THE  UNIVERSITY  jOF  CHICAGO 
Founded  by  Johx  D,  Rockefeller 


THE  EARLY  RELATION  AND 
SEPARATION 

BAPTISTS  AND  DISCIPLES 


A  DISSERTATION  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE 
GRADUATE  DIVINITY  SCHOOL  IN  CANDIDACY 
FOR    THE    DEGREE    OF  DOCTOR 
OF  PHILOSOPHY 


BY 


R  RETT   GAT  }<  S 


L  H ICAGO 

R.  R, DONNELLEY  &  SONS  COMPAN\ 
1904 


BX7315 
.&Z54 


I 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/earlyrelationsepOOgate_0 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 

Founded  by  John  D.  Rockefeller 


THE  EARLY  RELATION  AND 
SEPARATION 

OF 

BAPTISTS  AND  DISCIPLES 

A  DISSERTATION  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE 
GRADUATE  DIVINITY  SCHOOL  IN  CANDIDACY 
FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR 
OF  PHILOSOPHY 

(DEPARTMENT  OF  CHURCH  HISTORY) 
BY 

ERRETT  GATES 


CHICAGO 

R.  R.  DONNELLEY  &  SONS  COMPANY 
1904 


R.  DONNELLEY  &  SONS  COMPANY,  PRINTERS 
CHICAGO 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.   The  Origin  of  the  Disciples   9 

II.   The  Union  with  the  Baptists   19 

III.  The  Sermon  on  the  Law   27 

IV.  The  Debates  with  John  Walker  and  W.  L.  Maccalla      -  32 
V.   The  Christian  Baptist  •      -      -      ■      -  39 

VI.   The  Status  of  Alexander  Campbell's  Fellowship  with 

the  Baptists   51 

VII.   The  Spread  of  the  "Ancient  Order  of  Things"  Among 

THE  Baptists   60 

VIII.   The  Spread  of  the  "Ancient  Order  of  Things"  Among 

THE  Baptists  :   Causes  and  Conditions      -      -      -      -  76 

IX.   The  Separation  of  the  "Reformers"  from  the  Baptists-  88 
X.   The  Separation  of  the  "Reformers"  from  the  Baptists; 

Causes   105 


3 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


Armitage,  Thomas.    "History  of  the  Baptists."  1887. 
Baxter,  Wm.    "Life  of  Walter  Scott."  1874. 
Benedict,  David.    "History  of  the  Baptists."  1850. 
Campbell,  Thomas.    "  Declaration  and  Address."  1809. 
Campbell,  Alexander.    "Debate  with  John  Walker."  1820. 

"  Debate  with  W.  L.  Maccalla."  1823. 
"  "  "  The   Christian   Baptist."     Monthly  periodical.  7 

vols.  1823-1830. 
"  "  "  Debate  with  Robert  Owen."  1829. 

"  "  "The   Millennial   Harbinger."     Monthly  periodical. 

40  vols.    1830- 1870. 
"  Debate  with  Bishop  Purcell."  1837- 
"  Debate  with  Rev.  N.  L.  Rice."  1843. 
"  "  "  Memoirs  of  Thomas  Campbell."  1861, 

Garrison,  W.  E.    "  The  Theology  of  Alexander  Campbell." 
Garrison,  J.  H.,  Edited  by.    "The  Reformation  of  the  Nineteenth  Century." 
1901. 

Grafton,  T.  W.    "Alexander  Campbell."  1897. 

Haley,  T.  P.    "  The  Dawn  of  the  Reformation  in  Missouri."  1888. 

Hayden,  A.  S.    "  History  of  the  Disciples  in  the  Western  Reserve."  1875. 

Jeter,  J.  B.   "  Campbellism  Examined."  1855. 

Longan,  G.  W.    "  Origin  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ."  1889. 

Newman,  A.  H.    "  History  of  the  Baptists."    American  Church  History 

Series.   Vol.  H.  1894. 
Richardson,  Robert.    "  Memoirs  of  A.  Campbell."    1868.    2  vols. 
Riley,  B.  F.    "History  of  the  Baptists  in  the  Southern  States."  1898. 
Rogers,  John.    "  Biography  of  Elder  J.  T.  Johnson."  1861. 
Rogers,  W.  C.    "  Recollections  of  Men  of  Faith."  1889. 
Semple,  Robert.    "  History  of  the  Baptists  of  Virginia."  1894. 
Smith,  Justin  A.    "History  of  the  Baptists  in  the  Western  States."  1896. 
Stone,  B.  W.   "The  Christian  Messenger."   1826.   Monthly  periodical. 

"  Autobiography  of  B.  W.  Stone."  1846. 
Tyler,  B.  B.    "  History  of  the  Disciples."    American  Church  History  Series. 

Vol.  Xn.  1894. 

Vedder,  H.  C.    "  History  of  the  Baptists  in  the  Middle  States."  1898. 
Whitsitt,  W.  H.    "  Origin  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ."  1888. 
Williams,  John  Augustus.    "Life  of  Elder  John  Smith."  1870. 
Young,  C.  A.,  Edited  by.    "  Historical  Documents."  1904. 


7 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST.' 

Every  religious  movement  owes  its  origin  to  some  leading  person 
or  persons;  Protestantism  to  Luther  and  Zwingli,  ^Methodism  to 
Wesley.  So  the  Disciples  of  Christ  owe  their  origin  to  the  joint 
thought  and  labors  of  two  men,  Thomas  and  Alexander  Campbell, 
father  and  son.  \'arious  phases  and  tendencies  of  a  religious  move- 
ment may  be  traceable  to  conditions  back  of  its  accredited  founder, 
as  many  phases  of  Protestantism  to  the  reformers  before  the  reforma- 
tion, and  many  tendencies  in  ^lethodism  to  the  Moravians  and 
European  Pietists.  So  there  are  discernible  back  of  the  Campbells, 
tendencies  in  religious  thought  which  became  dominant  forces  in 
their  movement.  Xo  religious  movement  arises  out  of  the  earth  or 
comes  dow^n  from  heaven  regardless  of  past  or  present  conditions. 
Single  lives  combine  in  themselves  scattered  tendencies,  either  hidden 
or  apparent,  and  concentrate  them  into  a  historic  movement.  It  takes 
then  a  distinct  and  traceable  course  and  receives  a  distinguishing 
name. 

Thomas  Campbell  was  born  in  County  Down,  Ireland,  February 
I,  1763.  His  father  had  been  in  early  life  a  Roman  Catholic,  but  was 
won  over  later  to  the  established  church  of  England.  In  the  atmos- 
phere of  that  religious  system  Thomas  was  brought  up.  He  never 
quite  found  satisfaction,  however,  in  ser\'ing  God  according  to 
act  of  parliament,"  and  soon  sought  the  fellowship  of  a  neighboring 
Seceder  Presbyterian  Church.  He  is  said  to  have  passed  through  a 
deep  religious  experience,"  in  which  he  found  that  inward  peace 
and  assurance  of  forgiveness,  which  he  accepted  as  evidence  of  an 
"  effectual  calling."  The  mom.ent  of  his  conversion  was  the  moment 
of  his  dedication  to  the  ministry.  He  had  received  an  excellent  Eng- 
lish education  in  a  military  regimental  schoel  and  became  a  school 
teacher. 

After  his  call  to  the  ministry  he  was  urged  by  some  of  his  Seceder 
friends  to  enter  the  University  of  Glasgow.  After  completing  his 
literary  course  at  the  University,  he  passed  into  the  Anti-Burgher 
Seceder  Theological  Seminary  for  his  special  ministerial  training. 

' "  Memoirs  of  Alexander  Campbell."     Robert  Richardson. 

9 


lO  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST 

He  became  pastor  of  a  Seceder  church  at  Ahorey,  County  Armagh, 
Ireland.  It  was  while  living  at  Rich  Hill  in  the  quiet  discharge  of  his 
duties  as  a  teacher  in  an  academy,  as  well  as  pastor  at  Ahorey,  that 
his  son  Alexander  grew  to  young  manhood,  and  shared  with  his 
father  the  management  of  the  academy.  Here,  during  the  years 
between  1798  and  1807,  both  father  and  son  came  into  contact  with 
an  Independent  "  church  ministered  to  from  time  to  time  by  such 
men  as  Rowland  Hill,  the  Haldanes,  Alex.  Carson  and  John  Walker. 
The  Campbells,  in  their  free  mingling  with  other  religious  bodies, 
must  have  been  of  more  liberal  spirit  than  their  brethren  in  the  Se- 
ceder Church,  who  were  permitted  only  an  "  occasional  hearing  "  or 
attendance  upon  the  services  of  other  denominations.  This  was  ex- 
pressly discouraged,  and  only  half-way  countenanced  when  there  was 
no  meeting  at  a  Seceder  church  at  the  same  hour.  The  biographer  of 
the  Campbells,  Robert  Richardson,  concedes  to  these  Independents  at 
Rich  Hill  a  very  important  influence  upon  them.  They  seem  to  have 
been  characterized  by  the  same  breadth  of  spirit  and  freedom  of  com- 
munion with  other  Christians  that  belonged  to  this  body  in  contrast 
to  all  other  religious  bodies  of  that  time  and  country.  Especially  was 
this  difference  striking  as  between  the  Seceder  Church  and  the  Inde- 
pendents. The  Seceders  had  divided  and  sub-divided  over  excessive 
refinements  of  differences  until  they  had  grown  narrow,  illiberal  and 
clannish.  There  were  no  less  than  four  branches  of  the  Seceder 
Church.  "  Schooled  amidst  such  schisms  in  his  own  denomination, 
and  harassed  by  the  triviality  of  the  differences  by  which  they  were 
maintained,  Thomas  Campbell  conceived  the  greatest  antipathy  to 
party  spirit  and  all  its  workings  and  manifestations,"  while  "  his  son 
Alexander  fully  sympathized  with  him  in  these  feelings."  Thomas 
Campbell  was  especially  zealous  in  the  promoting  of  a  proposed  union 
between  the  Burgher  and  Anti-Burgher  synods  of  Ireland  in  1804-5. 
While  his  own  immediate  effort  for  the  union  failed,  the  actual  union 
took  place  in  1820.  after  the  Campbells  had  taken  up  their  home 
in  the  wilderness  of  the  New  World. 

The  excessive  strain  of  his  labors  as  preacher  and  teacher  began 
to  tell  upon  his  health.  He  was  induced  by  his  family  and  friends  to 
relinquish  his  work,  and  seek  rest  and  recuperation  in  a  journey  to 
America.  Leaving  his  family  behind  and  intrusting  the  charge  and 
oversight  of  his  academy  to  his  son  Alexander,  who  had  grown  to  be 
a  youth  of  nineteen  years,  he  set  out  for  America.  He  selected  as 
his  destination  the  western  part  of  Pennsylvania,  whither  had  gone 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  n 

some  of  his  neighborhood  acquaintances  and  some  members  of  his 
congregation.  He  was  assigned  by  an  Anti-Burgher  synod,  in  session 
in  Philadelphia  when  he  arrived  from  Ireland,  to  the  Presbytery  of 
Chartiers,  Washington  County,  Pennsylvania.  There  he  found  friends 
who  had  preceded  him  from  Ireland,  and  was  subsequently  joined  by 
other  friends  who  emigrated  to  the  New  World.  He  took  up  a  kind  of 
itinerary  among  the  circle  of  small  Seceder  churches.  He  had 
brought  with  him  his  old  world  catholicity  of  spirit.  The  Seceder 
Church  in  western  Pennsylvania  had  preserved  unchanged  the  spirit 
and  tradition  of  their  mother  church  in  Ireland  and  Scotland.  On 
one  of  his  excursions  in  an  especially  destitute  part  of  the  country, 
his  sympathy  went  out  to  the  homeless  members  of  the  various 
denominations  who  had  settled  there.  He  invited  them  to  come  in 
and  share  the  communion  of  his  Presbyterian  flock.  This  breach  of 
Seceder  exclusiveness  shocked  and  embittered  his  Seceder  brethren, 
who  forthwith  lodged  complaint  against  him  before  the  next  synod. 
He  was  tried  for  his  transgression  of  the  church  standards  and 
usages.  He  was  mildly  censured  and  admonished  to  preserve  regu- 
larity of  order  in  his  ministrations  thereafter.  The  situation,  how- 
ever, became  so  painful,  the  hostility  and  jealousy  of  his  brethren 
so  intolerable,  that  he  was  obliged  to  withdraw  from  the  synod. 

This  severance  of  his  relation  with  the  Seceder  body  and  this 
renunciation  of  the  authority  of  the  synod  did  not  terminate  his 
work  as  a  preacher.  During  his  brief  sojourn  in  the  country  he  had 
won  the  esteem  of  many  persons  and  endeared  himself  to  many  of  his 
Seceder  members.  Before  finally  withdrawing  from  the  synod  he 
had  frequently  urged  the  excellence  and  desirability  of  Christian 
union ;  but  now  the  dominant  note  of  his  preaching  was  a  plea  for 
Christian  liberality  and  Christian  union  upon  the  basis  of  the  Bible." 
He  held  services  at  the  homes  of  his  friends,  the  hearers  usually 
crowding  the  largest  places.  This  continued  until  it  was  seen  that 
many  had  practically  severed  their  relations  with  the  Seceder  Church, 
and  many  others  of  the  community  had  become  regular  attendants 
at  his  ser^aces.  A  few  of  the  principal  persons  met  and  proposed 
that  a  meeting  be  held  with  the  object  of  efTecting  some  more  perma- 
nent organization  for  their  gatherings.  What  should  they  do  ?  What 
form  should  their  organization  take?  On  what  basis  should  they 
build  ?  were  the  questions  which  had  come  up  for  consideration  at  a 
meeting  appointed  to  be  held  at  the  home  of  Abraham  Altars. 
Thomas  Campbell  spoke.    He  dwelt  upon  the  inexpediency  and 


12 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST 


unscripturalness  of  division  among  Christians,  and  upon  the  suf- 
ficiency of  the  Scriptures  as  a  standard  of  faith  and  rule  of  Hfe. 
This  thought  had  already  become  familiar  to  his  mind  and  the  minds 
of  his  hearers,  for  he  had  dwelt  upon  it  in  a  letter  of  defense  to  the 
synod  which  was  about  to  meet  to  try  him,  in  which  he  affirmed  that 
it  was  his  purpose  to  teach  nothing  but  what  is  already  expressly 
taught  and  enjoined  by  divine  authority."  And  I  hope,"  he  con- 
tinues, "  it  is  no  presumption  to  believe  that  saying  and  doing  the 
very  same  things  that  are  said  and  done  before  our  eyes  in  the  sacred 
page  is  infallibly  right,  as  well  as  all-sufficient  for  the  edification  of 
the  church,  whose  duty  and  perfection  it  is  to  be  in  all  things  con- 
formed to  the  original  standard."  But  this  dominant  thought  and 
burning  appeal  took  the  form  of  a  motto  or  rule  in  the  address  he 
delivered  at  the  meeting  referred  to  above,  namely,  "  Where  the 
Scriptures  speak  we  speak  ;  and  where  the  Scriptures  are  silent  we  are 
silent." 

Opportunity  was  given  to  others  to  speak  at  the  close  of  this 
address.  Among-  others,  Andrew  Monroe  arose  and  said :  Mr. 
Campbell,  if  we  adopt  that  as  a  basis,  then  there  is  an  end  of  infant 
baptism."  "  Of  course,"  Mr.  Campbell  said,  if  infant  baptism  be 
not  found  in  Scripture,  we  can  have  nothing  to  do  with  it."  One 
of  the  persons  present  was  Thomas  Acheson,  who  seemed  to  be 
deeply  moved  by  this  unexpected  application  of  the  motto,  and 
exclaimed,  with  some  excitement :  I  hope  I  may  never  see  the  day 
when  my  heart  will  renounce  that  blessed  saying  of  Scripture, '  Suffer 
little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.'  "  James  Foster,  another  person  present, 
ventured  to  respond :  Mr.  Acheson,  I  would  remark  that  in  the  por- 
tion of  Scripture  you  have  quoted  there  is  no  reference  whatever  to 
infant  baptism.."  The  company  were  by  no  means  favorably  disposed 
to  abandon  at  once  the  baptism  of  infants.  Mr.  Campbell  himself,  as 
we  shall  see,  still  believed  that  there  vvas  Scripture  precept  and  exam- 
ple for  infant  baptism.  It  was  agreed  to  treat  the  practice  as  a  matter 
of  forbearance.  When  ]\Ir.  Campbell  a  little  later  was  asked  by  James 
Foster,  Father  Campbell,  how  could  you  in  the  absence  of  any 
authority  in  the  Word  of  God,  baptize  a  child  in  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit?  "  he  replied:  Sir, 
you  are  the  most  intractable  person  I  ever  met." 

It  was  so  far  merely  a  question  of  Scripture  precept  and  example. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  13 

The  question  of  a  believing  church  membership  and  of  the  relation  of 
faith  to  the  ordinance  of  baptism  were  not  raised  at  this  time.  With 
all  the  differences  in  this  collection  of  people,  for  they  represented 
nearly  every  phase  of  denominational  difference,  there  was,  notwith- 
standing, a  bond  of  sympathy  which  drew  them  together.  At  a  meet- 
ing held  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Buffalo,  August  17,  1809,  it  was 
resolved  to  form  themselves  into  a  regular  association  under  the  name 
of  "  The  Christian  Association  of  Washington."  They  appointed 
twenty-one  of  their  number  to  draw  up  articles  of  association,  with 
Mr.  Campbell  as  adviser  in  chief.  He  drew  up  what  he  called  a  De- 
claration and  Address,"  setting  forth  the  principles  upon  which  they 
should  act,  and  the  reason  for  the  new  association.  This  document  was 
read  at  a  special  meeting  of  the  chief  members,  adopted  and  ordered 
printed  September  7,  1809.  The  following  quotation  from  the  pre- 
amble of  the  Declaration  will  best  indicate  the  motive  which  moved 
them :  "  Our  desire,  therefore,  for  ourselves  and  brethren,  would  be 
that  rejecting  human  opinions  and  the  inventions  of  men  as  of  any 
authority,  or  as  having  any  place  in  the  church  of  God,  we  might 
forever  cease  from  further  contention  about  such  things,  returning 
to  and  holding  fast  by  the  original  standard,  taking  the  divine  Word 
alone  for  our  rule,  the  Holy  Spirit  for  our  teacher  and  guide  to  lead 
us  into  all  truth,  and  Christ  alone,  as  exhibited  in  the  Word,  for  our 
salvation;  and  that  by  so  doing  we  may  be  at  peace  among  our- 
selves, follow  peace  with  all  men  and  holiness,  without  which  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord."  In  five  brief  resolutions  they  defined  the  scope 
and  purpose  of  the  Association  to  be  "  the  promoting  of  simple,  evan- 
gelical Christianity,  free  from  all  mixture  of  human  opinions  and 
inventions  of  men  "  ;  "  the  raising  of  a  fund  to  support  a  pure  Gospel 
ministry,  that  shall  reduce  to  practice  that  whole  form  of  doctrine, 
worship,  discipline  and  government  expressly  revealed  and  enjoined 
in  the  Word  of  God ;  and  also  for  supplying  the  poor  with  the  Holy 
Scriptures  "  ;  "  to  encourage  the  formation  of  similar  associations  " ; 

to  consider  their  associations  as  in  nowise  a  church,  but  merely  as 
voluntary  advocates  for  church  reformation  "  :  and  to  countenance 
and  support  only  those  ministers  who  exhibit  in  their  lives  and  teach- 
ing conformity  to  the  original  standard,  and  who  shall  inculcate 
nothing  as  a  matter  of  Christian  faith  or  duty  but  for  which  there 
can  be  expressly  produced  a  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord,'  either  in  express 
terms  or  by  approved  precedent."   A  standing  committee  of  twenty- 


H  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST 

one  members  was  appointed  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  the  Associa- 
tion. There  were  to  be  semi-annual  meetings  the  first  Thursday  in 
May  and  November. 

In  the  midst  of  these  events  and  changes  the  son  of  Thomas 
Campbell  arrived  with  the  family  from  Scotland.  Alexander  had 
spent  a  year  at  the  University  of  Glasgow,  where  he  came  into  very 
close  touch  with  the  work  of  the  Haldanes  and  other  religious  move- 
ments of  the  country.  During  the  two  years  of  separation  from 
his  father  the  son's  mind  had  undergone  momentous  change  on 
religious  subjects.  He  had  grown  entirely  away  from  the  Seceder 
Church,  and  had  found  it  impossible  to  commune  with  it  in  Glas- 
gow. When  the  son  reached  America  he  found  himself  in 
entire  accord  with  his  father's  views  and  action,  and  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  "  Declaration  and  Address,"  as  they  were  rehearsed  to 
him  very  soon  after  his  arrival.  It  was  a  surprise  to  both  father  and 
son  to  find  themselves  sharing  each  other's  views,  when  each  had 
expected  to  shock  the  other  upon  the  disclosure  of  his  sentiments. 
The  son  joined  heartily  in  the  labors  of  his  father  and  was  soon 
found  to  be  leading  the  father  in  the  radical  application  of  the  prin- 
ciples. When  he  examined  the  proofsheets  of  the  Declaration  and 
Address,"  he  said  to  his  father  that  upon  such  principles  they  would 
have  to  abandon  infant  baptism.  This  conviction  seems  to  have  been 
more  deeply  impressed  upon  him  by  a  conversation  with  a  Presbyte- 
rian minister  by  the  name  of  Riddle  concerning  the  principles  of  the 
"  Declaration  and  Address,"  in  which  he  said :  "  Sir,  these  words, 
however  plausible  in  appearance,  are  not  sound.  For  if  you  follow 
these  out  you  must  become  a  Baptist."  Alexander  was  thus  stimu- 
lated to  make  a  thorough  examination  of  the  Scriptures  on  the 
subject  of  baptism,  infant  baptism  in  particular.  He  read  exhaus- 
tively the  literature  on  both  sides  of  the  question,  but  finally  cast 
all  authorities  aside  and  shut  himself  up  with  his  Greek  New  Tes- 
tament. Both  father  and  son  came  finally  to  admit  that  there  was 
neither  express  terms  "  nor  "  approved  precedent "  for  the  prac- 
tice of  infant  baptism. 

The  Christian  Association  of  Washington  "  began  to  take  on 
a  more  definite  and  fixed  form  before  the  community.  They  had 
built  a  log  meeting-house  in  which  Thomas  Campbell  conducted 
Sunday  services  regularly.  The  members  for  the  most  part  held 
formal  church  membership  in  the  various  churches  of  the  region. 
But  a  process  of  elimination  and  crystallization  was  going  on,  which 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  15 

gave  to  the  Association  the  appearance  of  a  new  denomination. 
They  were  not  received  cordially  by  the  various  denominations 
or  introduced  to  their  congregations.  They  found  one  by  one  the 
avenues  of  approach  cut  off  by  which  they  had  hoped  to  carry 
on  an  interdenominational  propaganda  of  the  principles  of  the  "Dec- 
laration and  Address."  It  was  a  fond  dream  which  they  could 
scarcely  hope  to  realize  under  the  conditions  of  religious  society 
at  that  time.  For  the  various  denominations  to  have  invited  and 
welcomed  the  ministers  of  the  "  Christian  Association  "  into  their 
churches  and  given  them  a  hearing  would  have  been  suicidal.  With 
the  reverence  in  which  the  various  confessions  and  testimonies 
were  held  in  those  days  by  their  respective  churches,  the  assault 
upon  "  human  creeds,"  "  partyism,"  "  man-made  bonds  of  union," 
"  the  horrid  evil  of  division,"  and  the  appeal  to  unite  upon  the 
Scriptures  alone  would  not  be  listened  to  patiently.  Avow  as  sin- 
cerely as  they  would  their  "  perfectly  amicable  intentions  with 
respect  to  all  churches  of  Christ,"  they  were  nevertheless  shut  out 
from  the  churches  and  denied  a  hearing  on  every  occasion. 

It  began  to  dawn  upon  the  Campbells  that  they  were  in  danger 
of  becoming  another  sect  among  the  sects,  and  to  stand  in  the  ridicu- 
lous light  of  a  sect  pleading  for  the  destruction  of  sectarianism. 
Whether  the  Campbells  first  made  overtures  for  reception  into  a 
Presbyterian  synod  or  a  Presbyterian  synod  first  made  overtures 
to  them  for  ecclesiastical  union  is  not  clear.  There  were,  however, 
sufficient  advances  on  both  sides  to  assure  the  members  of  the 
"  Christian  Association  "  that  they  would  be  gladly  welcomed  into 
the  fellowship  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  They  all  professed  adher- 
ence, for  the  most  part,  to  the  ^^'estminster  Confession,  with  the 
exception  of  Thomas  Campbell,  who  took  exception  to  the  chapter 
conferring  power  upon  the  clergy.  Fearing,  therefore,  that  they 
were  fast  becoming  a  distinct  religious  body,  they  were  willing  to 
concede  many  differences  and  forbear  in  order  to  be  received  into 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  To  this  end  Thomas  Campbell  made 
overtures  to  the  synod  of  Pittsburg.  He  seems  to  have  gone  in 
the  capacity  of  a  representative  of  the  "  Christian  Association " 
and  to  have  stipulated  that  its  propaganda  should  go  on  just  the  same, 
even  under  the  shelter  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  synod 
declined  to  receive  Mr.  Campbell  and  the  "  Christian  Association  " 
because  they  believed  the  principles  of  the  "  Declaration  and  Ad- 
dress "  would  be  destructive  of  the  peace  of  the  church :  and  for 


i6  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST 

expressing  his  opinion  that  there  were  things  taught  in  the  West- 
minster Confession  not  found  in  the  Bible;  that  the  baptism  of 
infants  was  not  authorized  by  scriptural  precept  or  example,  yet 
administering  that  ordinance  while  holding  such  an  opinion ;  for 
encouraging  or  countenancing  his  son  to  preach  the  Gospel  without 
any  regular  authority;  for  opposing  creeds  and  confessions  as 
injurious  to  the  interests  of  religion,  and  because  it  was  not  con- 
sistent with  the  regulations  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  that  synod 
should  form  a  connection  with  any  ministers,  churches  or  associa- 
tions. This  took  place  in  October,  1810.  The  failure  of  this  well- 
meant  effort  for  union  was  a  foregone  conclusion  and  was  urged 
on  to  the  issue  by  the  over-sanguine  hopefulness  and  confidence 
of  the  father  in  the  principles  he  had  adopted;  for  the  son  seems 
not  to  have  encouraged  the  overture,  but  rather  to  have  anticipated 
the  failure.  The  action  and  reply  of  the  synod  to  the  application 
for  admission  was  looked  upon  as  an  afiPront  and  accepted  as  a 
challenge  by  the  Association.  Alexander  Campbell  was  put  for- 
ward to  reply  to  it,  which  he  did  in  a  publicly  announced  discourse 
a  few  days  after  the  adjournment  of  the  synod.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  that  long  career  of  public  controversy  which  x\lex- 
ander  Campbell  felt  called  upon  to  follow.  The  results  of  this  first 
public  encounter  with  opposition  and  criticism  was  highly  gratify- 
ing to  the  Christian  Association. 

The  circuit  of  their  preaching  tours  was  gradually  enlarged 
until  it  included  more  than  half  a  dozen  school  and  private  houses. 
On  one  of  these  tours  Alexander  was  stopping  at  the  home  of  one 
of  his  newly  made  friends,  when  he  met  a  Baptist  minister  with 
whom  he  discussed  the  question  of  baptism.  At  that  time  Alexander 
Campbell  took  the  side  of  the  Pedobaptists  in  the  discussion.  He 
seems  to  have  been  confused  and  baffled  by  the  Baptist  minister. 
Denied  fellowship  on  all  sides  the  Christian  Association  began  to 
take  steps  towards  organizing  as  a  regular  church.  This  was  accord- 
ingly done  at  the  May  meeting  of  the  Association  in  181 1.  Thomas 
Campbell  was  appointed  elder;  Alexander  Campbell  was  licensed 
to  preach  and  four  deacons  were  chosen.  A  test  question  was  pro- 
posed to  each  one  who  applied  for  membership,  and  the  answers 
passed  upon  by  Thomas  Campbell.  The  question  asked  was,  "  What 
is  the  meritorious  cause  of  the  sinner's  acceptance  with  God?  "  This 
form  of  initiation  was  not  then  strictly  adhered  to,  for  one  man  was 
taken  in  without  answering  the  question.    Two  were  denied  fellow- 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST  17 


ship  for  insufficient  answers.  This  was  the  first  and  last  time  such  a 
procedure  was  gone  through  with  as  a  condition  of  entrance  into  the 
church.  Immediately  after  the  organization  of  this  first  church 
Alexander  started  out  on  his  first  preaching  tour.  A  new  meeting- 
house was  built  in  his  absence.  The  Lord's  supper  was  celebrated 
every  Lord's  day.  Some  of  the  members  were  observed  not  to  par- 
take of  the  emblems,  and  when  asked  said  they  did  not  feel  authorized 
so  to  do  because  they  had  never  been  baptized.  One  of  these  was  the 
daughter  of  a  Baptist.  This  seems  to  have  brought  up  the  ques- 
tion of  the  mode  of  baptism,  the  matter  in  dispute  before  having 
been  the  subject  of  baptism.  Joseph  Bryant,  one  of  the  non-com- 
municants at  the  Lord's  supper,  insisted  on  being  immersed  as  the 
only  proper  way  of  being  baptized.  Thomas  Campbell  performed 
the  ceremony  July  4,  181 1.  Many  persons  who  at  first  followed  the 
Christian  Association  withdrew  when  they  saw  the  direction  things 
were  taking.  At  its  organization  the  first  church  at  Brush  Run 
numbered  but  thirty  members. 

The  year  181 1  was  thus  an  important  year.  Alexander  Camp- 
bell made  several  extended  preaching  tours  in  the  neighboring 
parts  of  Ohio  and  West  Virginia.  Both  father  and  son  were  care- 
fully working  out  their  teaching  along  the  lines  of  the  "  Declaration 
and  Address  "  upon  the  basis  of  the  plain  Word  of  God.  One  ques- 
tion after  another  came  up  in  succession,  covering  the  whole  range 
of  Christian  faith  and  life,  church  order  and  government.  Among 
others,  ordination,  the  authority  of  the  local  congregation,  the 
apostolic  form  of  church  government,  were  all  investigated  and 
settled  according  to  the  teaching  and  example  of  the  Word  of 
God. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  year  1812  Alexander  was  ordained  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry  after  what  he  believed  to  be  a  New  Testament 
form  and  example  by  the  laying  on  of  hands.  He  regarded  the 
ceremony  of  ordination  as  merely  a  "  public  testimony  that  the 
persons  ordained  possessed  the  necessary  authority  "  to  preach  the 
gospel  and  administer  the  ordinances.  The  whole  question  of  bap- 
tism was  forced  anew  upon  Alexander  by  the  birth  of  his  first  child. 
His  wife  and  her  parents  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
Hitherto  infant  baptism  and  the  form  of  baptism  had  been  treated 
as  matters  of  forbearance,  or,  as  he  said,  "  let  slip  "  as  unimportant. 
But  now  he  goes  over  the  whole  subject  again  and  concludes  that 
only  believers  may  be  baptized,  and  only  immersion  is  properly  bap- 


t 


i8  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST 

tism.  That  being  true,  then  he  had  never  been  baptized.  "  Flaving 
formed  some  acquaintance  with  a  ^Matthias  Luce,  a  Baptist  preacher 
who  Hved  above  \\'ashington,  he  concluded  to  make  appHcation  to 
him  to  perform  the  rite,  and  on  his  way  to  visit  him  called  to  see 
his  father  and  family."  He  discovered  that  one  of  his  sisters  had 
made  up  her  mind  to  be  immersed.  He  presented  the  matter  to  his 
father,  who  seemed  somewhat  surprised,  but  made  no  objection. 
June  12,  1812,  was  the  day  set  apart  by  ^Ir.  Luce  to  immerse  Alex- 
ander Campbell  and  his  wife.  Before  the  day  arrived  his  father 
with  all  his  family  concluded  to  submit  to  the  rite.  Seven  persons 
in  all  were  baptized  on  that  day.  One  after  another  the  members 
of  the  Brush  Run  church  came  forward  asking  to  be  immersed, 
until  in  a  short  time  the  church  consisted  of  none  but  immersed 
believers.  Those  who  did  not  ask  immersion  withdrew  from  the 
church,  so  that  in  many  respects  during  the  year  1812  it  became  a 
Baptist  church  without  the  name. 

The  result  of  the  adoption  of  Baptist  views  on  baptism  was  neces- 
sarily to  separate  the  church  from  the  sympathies  of  the  Pedobaptist 
community.  The  Campbells  had  always  entertained  a  kind  of  antip- 
athy towards  the  Baptists  as  a  comparatively  uneducated  people. 
There  were  but  few  Baptists  in  that  region,  and  at  this  time  they 
had  little  or  no  acquaintance  with  them,  much  less  any  leaning 
toward  them  as  a  people.  But  now  that  the  Campbells  and  the 
Brush  Run  church  found  themselves  upon  Baptist  ground,  they 
began  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  members  of  that  particular  fold. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  UNION  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS. 

When  the  report  went  out  that  the  Brush  Run  church,  led  by  the 
Campbells,  had  been  converted  into  a  church  of  immersed  believers, 
the  acquaintance  of  the  Campbells  with  the  Baptists  of  the  region 
extended  very  rapidly,  especially  among  the  members  of  the  Red- 
stone Association.  His  acquaintance  thus  far,  as  has  been  observed, 
was  very  limited,  and  his  opinion  of  them,  especially  the  ministry, 
very  low.  Speaking  of  this  period  in  1848  he  says :  "  I  had  no  idea 
of  uniting  with  the  Baptists  more  than  with  the  Moravians  or  the 
mere  Independents.  I  had  unfortunately  formed  a  very  unfavorable 
opinion  of  the  Baptist  preachers  as  then  introduced  to  my  acquaint- 
ance, as  narrow,  contracted,  illiberal  and  uneducated  men  

The  people,  however,  called  Baptists  were  much  more  highly  appre- 
ciated by  me  than  their  ministry.  Indeed,  the  ministry  of  some 
sects  is  generally  in  the  aggregate  the  worse  portion  of  them.  It 
was  certainly  so  in  the  Redstone  Association  thirty  years  ago.  They 
were  little  men  in  a  big  office.  The  office  did  not  fit  them.  They 
had  a  wrong  idea,  too,  of  what  was  wanting.  They  seemed  to  think 
that  a  change  of  apparel  —  a  black  coat  instead  of  a  drab  —  a  broad 
rim  on  their  hat  instead  of  a  narrow  one  —  a  prolongation  of  their 
face  and  a  fictitious  gravity  —  a  long  and  more  emphatic  pronuncia- 
tion of  certain  words  rather  than  scriptural  knowledge,  humility, 
spirituality,  zeal  and  Christian  affection,  with  great  devotion  and 
great  philanthropy,  were  the  grand  desiderata  I,  there- 
fore, could  not  esteem  them  nor  court  their  favor  by  offering  any 
incense  at  their  shrine.  I  resolved  to  have  nothing  especially  to  do 
with  them  more  than  with  other  preachers  and  teachers.  The  clergy 
of  my  acquaintance  in  other  parties  of  that  day  were,  as  they  be- 
lieved, educated  men,  and  called  the  Baptists  illiterate  and  uncouth 
men,  without  either  learning  or  academic  accomplishments  or  pol- 
ish I  confess,  however,  that  I  was  better  pleased  with 

the  Baptist  people  than  with  any  other  community.  They  read  the 
Bible  and  seemed  to  care  for  little  else  in  religion  than  "  conver- 
sion "  and  "  Bible  doctrine."  They  often  sent  for  us  and  pressed  us 
to  preach  for  them."  ^ 

^  Millennial  Harbinger,  1848,  344 ;  Memoirs,  I.  438. 

19 


20 


THE  UNION  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS 


Mr.  Campbell  began  to  visit  the  churches,  and  "  on  acquaintance 
liked  the  people  more  and  the  preachers  less."  He  determined  to 
visit  the  meeting-  of  the  Redstone  Association  at  Uniontown,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  the  fall  of  1812.  He  went  there  as  an  auditor  and  spec- 
tator, but  was  pressed  by  the  people  to  speak  at  the  meeting.  He 
yielded  so  far  as  to  speak  to  a  small  company  of  thirty  or  forty  people 
in  a  private  house.  He  discovered  at  this  meeting  that  the  Baptists 
did  not  like  the  preaching  or  the  preachers  any  more  than  he.  He 
was  urged  to  visit  their  churches  and  preach  for  them.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell had  already  developed  power  as  a  speaker,  and  was  eagerly 
sought  after  by  the  people  of  all  the  churches  wherever  he  was 
known.  He  often  spoke  for  Baptist  churches  in  a  circuit  of  sixty 
miles,  and  was  urged  by  them  to  join  the  Redstone  Association.  The 
matter  was  laid  before  the  Brush  Run  church  in  the  fall  of  18 13.  The 
church  drew  up  a  statement  of  their  views  on  religious  subjects, 
apparently  in  accord  with  the  "  Declaration  and  Address,"  and  closed 
by  expressing  a  willingness  to  co-operate  or  unite  with  that  Associa- 
tion on  the  condition  that  they  be  allowed  to  teach  and  preach  what- 
ever they  learned  from  the  Holy  Scriptures."  The  document  was 
laid  before  the  Redstone  Association,  and  after  much  debate,  it  was 
voted  to  receive  them.  Thus  the  union  was  effected.  The  Brush 
Run  church,  meeting  at  two  places.  Brush  Run  and  Cross  Roads, 
was  received  into  the  fellowship  of  Baptist  churches.  From  this 
time  Mr.  Campbell  regarded  himself  as  a  member  of  that  denomina- 
tion. 

It  ought  to  be  observed  that  at  the  time  of  this  union,  a  small 
minority  of  ministers  composed  of  Elder  Pritchard,  of  Cross  Creek, 
Virginia,  Elder  Brownfield,  of  Uniontown,  Pennsylvania,  and  an 
Elder  Stone  and  his  son,  of  Ohio,  were  opposed  to  it.  They  seem 
not  to  have  been  reconciled  to  the  action  of  the  majority.  Mr. 
Campbell's  spirit  of  independence  and  his  hostility  to  creeds  and 
the  rule  of  the  clergy,  and  withal  his  refusal  to  subscribe  to  any 
confession  of  faith  in  uniting  with  the  Association,  were  not  pleasing 
to  a  few  active  ministers.  The  Redstone  Association  of  churches  had 
adopted  the  Philadelphia  Confession."  To  this  Mr.  Campbell 
would  not  subscribe  or  allow  his  associates  to  subscribe. 

The  merely  formal  union  of  the  Brush  Run  church  with  the  Red- 
stone Association  of  Baptist  churches,  did  not  signify  or  insure  a 
real  union  in  usage  and  doctrine.  There  was  sufficient  resemblance 
between  them  to  draw  them  together  and  into  mutual  sympathy ;  but 


THE  UNION  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS 


this  resemblance  consisted  chiefly  in  church  pohty  and  the  form  and 
subjects  of  baptism.  This  would  necessarily  identify  them  in  the 
estimation  of  the  superficial  observer.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the 
Campbells  had  arrived  before  that  time  at  views  on  many  primary 
religious  subjects,  which  separated  them  from  the  Baptists. 

1.  At  that  time  Alexander  Campbell  had  arrived  at  a  view  of 
the  design  and  place  of  baptism  which  was  not  held  by  the  Baptists, 
and  indeed  conflicted  with  the  doctrine  commonly  held  by  them.^ 
In  the  year  1811-12  he  declared  baptism  to  be  first  formal  and 
comprehensive  act  of  the  obedience  of  faith.'l^  In  his  baptism  at  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Luce  he  did  not  strictly  conform  to  Baptist  custom. 
He  refused  to  submit  to  any  examination,  or  to  relate  any  experience 
before  an  examining  committee,  or  to  subscribe  to  any  other  con- 
fession of  faith  than  that  used  by  the  apostles.  To  these  conditions 
Mr.  Luce  reluctantly  yielded,  declaring  that  he  would  run  the  risk 
of  being  censured  by  his  Baptist  brethren.  The  entire  company  were 
accordingly  baptized  upon  a  confession  of  their  faith  that  Jesus  was 
the  Christ,  thus  plainly  conflicting  with  Baptist  usage.  It  ofifended 
the  very  spirit  of  Baptist  doctrine  and  practice,  which  had  always 
and  everywhere  insisted  upon  an  examination  and  relation  of  Chris- 
tian experience  from  the  candidate,  to  insure  a  regenerate  church 
membership. 

2.  There  was  also  a  difference  between  the  Brush  Run  church 
and  the  regular  Baptist  churches  in  the  administration  of  the  Lord's 
supper.^  The  Brush  Run  church  celebrated  the  supper  every  Lord's 
day,  while  the  Baptist  churches  only  monthly  or  quarterly.  So  high 
an  estimate  did  Thomas  Campbell  have  of  the  place  of  the  supper  in 
the  worship  of  the  church  that  he  declared  as  early  as  1811-12,  that 

instituted  worship  can  be  nowhere  performed  upon  the  Lord's  day, 
where  the  Lord's  Supper  is  not  administered.  Wherever  this  is  neg- 
lected, there  New  Testament  worship  ceases."^  The  biographer  of 
Alexander  Campbell  says  that  in  "  these  sentiments  ....  the 
son  substantially  agreed."  The  Brush  Run  church  at  this  time  ap- 
parently shared  Baptist  views  of  close  communion,  for  "  none  but 
baptized  believers  were  invited  to  partake."  Yet  the  line  was  not 
strictly  drawn  between  the  pious  immersed  and  unimmersed,  for 

^Memoirs,  1.  398,  410,  450. 
'Millennial  Harbinger,  1848,  p.  282. 
'  Memoirs,  1.  368,  372,  455. 
*  Memoirs,  I.  450. 


22 


THE  UNION  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS 


Thomas  Campbell  declared  in  1812,  "  We  believe,  as  we  have  a  right 
to  hope,  that  there  are  Christians  in  all  the  denominations  of  pro- 
fessors where  the  great  fundamental  truths  of  the  gospel  are  acknowl- 
edged." "  ^loreover,  every  irregularity,  error  or  mistake  does  not 
unpeople  a  professing  people.  Therefore  I  conclude  that  where  we 
hear  an  open  faithful  testimony  against  the  existing  evils  of  a  pro- 
fessing people  who  acknowledge  the  great  fundamental  truths  of  the 
gospel,  we  are  warranted  to  join  in  all  public  acts  of  religious  wor- 
ship with  such  of  them  as  voluntarily  attend  upon  our  ministrations.'" 
Richardson  tells  us  that  shortly  after  the  writing  of  the  above,  when 
the  church  became  a  company  of  immersed  believers,  they  were  in- 
clined to  go  to  the  extreme  "  of  recognizing  as  duly  prepared  to 
partake  in  religious  services,  only  those  who  had  been  immersed." 
They  seem  never  to  have  made  this  a  part  of  their  practice. 

3.  Before  this  union  with  the  Baptists,  Campbell  had  come  to 
his  views  on  the  relation  of  the  old  and  new  covenants,  which  were 
afterwards  made  the  occasion  of  the  first  charge  of  heresy  against 
him  by  some  members  of  the  Redstone  Association.  In  1812  he 
wrote  to  his  father  as  follows :  "  How  many  disciples  of  ]\Ioses  are 
to  be  found  in  the  professed  school  of  Jesus  Christ!  and  how  few 
among  the  teachers  of  the  New  Testament  seem  to  know  that  Christ's 
ministers  are  not  able  ministers  of  the  Old  Testament,  but  of  the 
Xew !  Do  they  not,  like  scholars  to  their  teacher,  run  to  Moses  to 
prove  forms  of  worship,  ordinances,  discipline,  and  government  in 
the  Christian  Church,  when  asked  to  account  for  their  practice  ?  " 
Here  lie  the  germs  of  that  famous  "  Sermon  on  the  Law  "  delivered 
in  18 16  before  the  Redstone  Association,  out  of  which  also  grew  his 
system  of  teaching  concerning  the  various  covenants  and  their  rela- 
tive authority.  To  a  Baptist  of  that  day  every  part  of  Scripture  was 
equally  authoritative.  To  declare  that  the  Christian  was  not  under 
the  Old  Testament  but  the  Xew,  not  under  ]\Ioses  but  under  Christ, 
not  under  law  but  under  grace,  was  an  intolerable  heresy.  Yet  this 
was  the  view  entertained  by  Campbell  when  he  joined  the  Baptist 
association. 

4.  His  view  of  ordination  at  this  time  was  very  loose  to  a  Bap- 
tist way  of  thinking,  and  his  estimate  of  an  ordained  minister's 
authority  very  low.'    This  was  one  of  the  grave  oflPenses  to  the 

^  Memoirs,  I.  453. 
^  Memoirs,,  I.  448. 
*  ^Memoirs,  I.  327,  328. 


THE  UNION  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS 


23 


Presbyterian  synod  at  the  time  of  the  negotiations  for  union,  and 
would  be  offensive  to  a  Baptist.  He  did  not  regard  ordination  as 
essential  to  the  exercise  of  the  functions  of  the  ministerial  office.  He 
himself  had  exercised  them  more  than  a  year  before  his  ordination." 
His  reply  to  the  strictures  of  the  Presbyterian  synod  on  their  posi- 
tion, that  it  "  degraded  the  ministerial  character  "  and  "  opened  the 
door  for  lay  preaching,"  was,  that  "  the  Scriptures  know  no  differ- 
ence between  laical  and  clerical  preachers;  that  it  was  the  indis- 
pensable duty  of  every  Christian  to  warn  sinners  to  flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come ;  and  that  many  eminent  ministers,  many  eminent 
preachers  preached  for  a  long  time  without  any  ordination  at  all. 
See  Acts  8,  4.  11  :ig,  20,  21."  Yet  he  acknowledged  that  the  Scrip- 
tures contained  examples  of  ordination,  and  that  it  was  both  scrip- 
tural and  expedient  as  a  means  to  good  order  in  the  church."  The 
form  of  ordination  itself  did  not  confer  any  authority,  but  was  merely 
a  public  testimony  that  the  persons  ordained  possessed  the  necessary 
qualifications.  It  was  not  in  the  power  or  province  of  the  clergy  to 
consecrate  or  set  apart  to  the  ministry,  but  was  both  the  right  and  the 
duty  of  the  people.  He  says :  "  You  see  that  ordination  is  not  a 
mere  unmeaning  thing,  but  consists  in  the  choice  of  the  people,  which 
must  be  hearty,  and  that  it  might  be  evidenced,  the  elders  or  rulers 
impose  their  hands.  Why  do  we  contend  for  uninterrupted  suc- 
cession in  ordination,  seeing  it  is  not  the  persons  called  bishops  who 
have  the  power,  but  the  people?  How  comes  it  that  we  contend  so 
much  about  having  persons  of  superior  authority  to  constitute  when 
inferiors  have  ordained  superiors?  Acts  13:1-3.  L  Cor.  12:28. 
How  many  persons  preached  and  baptized  without  ordination  ?  Acts, 
8,  1-4.  " 

5.  Where  he  came  into  chief  conflict  with  the  Baptists  of  that 
day,  was  in  his  view  of  faith  in  its  relation  to  regeneration.  The 
Baptists  of  western  Pennsylvania  were  thoroughly  Calvinistic.  The 
Redstone  ^Association  had  adopted  the  "  Philadelphia  Confession  " 
of  1742  as  its  doctrinal  standard.  This  confession  was  but  a  form 
of  the  "  Westminster  Confession,"  slightly  amended  to  adapt  it  to 
Baptist  usage.  The  fundamental  doctrine  of  it,  the  chapters  on  "  The 
Divine  Decrees,"  "  Adoption,"  Saving  Faith,"  and  the  "  Persever- 
ance of  the  Saints  "  were  carried  over  unchanged.  These  Calvinistic 
doctrines  were  carried  to  an  extreme  by  the  Baptist  preachers  of  the 

^  Memoirs,  I.  342,  349. 
^  Memoirs,  I.  382,  383. 


H 


THE  UNION  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS 


South  and  West.  Wayland,  writing  in  1856,  says  that  "within  the  last 
fifty  years  a  change  has  gradually  taken  place  in  the  views  of  a 
large  party  of  our  brethren.  At  the  commencement  of  that  period 
Gill's  Divinity  was  a  sort  of  standard,  and  Baptists  imbibing  his 
opinions  were  what  may  be  called  almost  hyper-Calvinistic." '  The 
same  testimony  is  borne  by  Dr.  Jeter  in  his  Campbellism  Exam- 
ined.'' The  doctrine  of  human  inability,  or  the  helplessness  of  the 
will  in  conversion,  was  carried  to  an  extreme.  In  harmony  with  the 
Philadelphia  Confession  these  Baptists  taught  the  initial  and  irresisti- 
ble power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  regeneration ;  that  faith  was  wrought 
in  the  heart  by  an  act  of  divine  power  or  regenerating  grace. 

Alexander  Campbell  held  substantially  this  same  view  in  181 1. 
In  a  sermon  of  that  year,  April  7,  he  says,  "  This  faith  we  are  con- 
stantly led  to  understand  is  of  the  operation  of  God  and  an  effect  of 
Almighty  power  and  regenerating  grace."^  But  in  1812  his  mind 
undergoes  a  change,  and  in  a  letter  to  his  father,  March  28,  he  denies 
that  a  man  must  be  regenerated  previous  to  the  first  act  of  faith,* 
"  for  if  regeneration  be  the  communication  of  spiritual  and  eternal 
life,  and  if  this  be  previous  to  faith,  then  a  man  may  live  and  die 
and  enjoy  eternal  life  without  faith."  He  then  elaborates  a  view 
of  the  subject  which  he  held  unchanged  to  the  close  of  his  life,  and 
one  which  was  universally  adopted  by  his  followers,  namely,  that 
"  the  word  of  God  is  the  means  of  regeneration  —  not  a  means  which 
man  uses,  but  a  means  which  God  uses.  James  i  :i8.  I.  Pet.  1 123.'' 
Starting  with  the  doctrine  that  God  in  Christ,  or  God,  laying  and 
executing  all  his  purposes  of  creation,  sustentation,  gubernation,  re- 
demption, and  judgment,  in  and  by  Jesus  Christ,  is  the  adequate, 
comprehensive,  and  adorable  object  of  the  Christian  faith,"  Thomas 
Campbell  declared  in  a  letter  to  his  son  in  1811-12:  ''The  full  and 
firm  persuasion  then,  or  hearty  belief  of  the  divine  testimony  con- 
cerning Jesus  ....  is  that  faith  in  its  proper  and  primary 
acceptation,  to  which  the  promises  and  privileges  of  salvation  are 
annexed."  In  other  words,  faith  is  the  hearty  belief  that  Jesus  is 
the  Christ  the  Son  of  God,  and  grows  out  of  the  hearing  or  receiving 

^Wayland,  F.,  "Baptist  Principle  and  Practice,"  68.    Vedder,  Henry  C, 
"  History  of  the  Baptists  in  Middle  States/'  192. 
^  Jeter,  J.  B.,  "  Campbellism  Examined,"  79,  80. 
'  Memoirs,  1.  376. 
*  Memoirs,  I.  422. 
^  Memoirs,  I.  416. 


THE  UNION  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS 


25 


of  testimony  to  that  fact.  The  son  in  reply  to  his  father  uses  the 
following  sentence :  "  Surely  it  is  only  the  man  who  believes  the 
divine  records  and  trusts  in  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  can  be 
considered  as  having  been  reconciled  through  the  infinite  goodness 
of  God." '  It  is  clearly  evident  that  his  view  of  faith  in  its  relation 
to  regeneration  squarely  conflicted  with  the  prevailing  Baptist  views. 

It  is  not  clear  that  all  these  views  were  known  to  the  Baptists 
of  the  Redstone  Association  when  the  union  took  place.  The  most 
of  them  probably  did  not  go  behind  what  appeared  to  all,  and  rested 
content  with  that,  namely,  the  fact  that  the  Campbells  and  the  Brush 
Run  church  had  adopted  the  immersion  of  a  believer  as  the  only 
true  scriptural  baptism.  That  patent  fact  made  them  Baptists.  Just 
what  the  document  contained,  in  which  they  set  forth  their  "  senti- 
ments, wishes  and  determinations  "  as  the  conditions  of  union,  is 
not  certain,  for  it  was  not  preserved.  Probably  not  a  detailed  state- 
ment of  doctrinal  opinions,  but  only  such  matters  as  pertained  to 
a  formal  union  of  one  church  with  an  association  of  Baptist  churches. 
It  must  be  observed  that  the  Brush  Run  church  was  received  as  a 
whole,  not  as  individuals.  The  process  would  have  been  very  differ- 
ent if  they  had  been  received  one  by  one  into  some  Baptist  church. 
It  was  an  exceptional  case  for  which  there  was  no  fixed  rule  of  pro- 
cedure in  Baptist  usage.  The  lay  members  of  the  Association  seem 
to  have  been  more  cordial  than  the  ministers  in  their  welcome  of  the 
new  church.  The  dissent  arose  among  the  ministers,  who  would 
be  more  likely  to  look  beneath  the  surface  and  detect  germinal  differ- 
ences. There  was  that  independent  and  bold  spirit  manifested  by  the 
Campbells  and  breathing  in  their  principles,  which  was  more  inimical 
than  any  variation  in  outward  form  or  practice.  The  ministers  could 
augur  no  good  to  the  cherished  usages  and  beliefs  of  the  Baptist 
Church  from  the  introduction  of  such  men.  For  who  could  tell  at 
what  moment  they  would  make  some  new  discovery  in  the  New 
Testament  which  would  discredit  the  old  practices  and  necessitate  a 
readjustment?  They  were  like  vessels  without  anchorage.  They 
had  set  sail  under  the  direction  of  the  rule  "  where  the  Scriptures 
speak,  we  speak;  where  they  are  silent,  we  are  silent,"  and  had 
insisted  as  a  condition  of  entrance  into  the  Baptist  fold,  "  that  they 
should  be  allowed  to  teach  and  preach  whatever  they  learned  from 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  regardless  of  any  creed  or  formula  in  Christen- 

^  Memoirs,  I.  425. 


26 


THE  UNION  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS 


dom."  The  Baptists  thought  that  they  themselves  occupied  ground 
new  enough  and  pecuHar  enough,  which  they  had  but  recently  won 
through  suffering.  These  differences,  and  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing the  union  with  the  Association,  were  sufficient  to  awaken  a  more 
or  less  open  opposition  on  the  part  of  a  few,  and  to  presage  wider 
differences  in  the  future. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   SERMON  ON   THE  LAW. 

Mr.  Campbell's  introduction  to  the  Baptist  body  was  an  opportu- 
nity for  the  dissemination  of  his  views  which  he  was  quick  to  appre- 
ciate and  improve.  He  did  not  need  to  force  himself  upon  their 
recognition,  for  his  exceptional  powers  as  a  speaker  brought  him 
into  immediate  favor  and  requisition  by  Baptist  churches  in  a  wide 
circle  about  his  home,  which  gradually  extended  as  they  became 
acquainted  with  him.  He  was  claimed  by  the  Baptists  and  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course  wherever  he  went  Baptist  churches  were  open  to  him, 
where  he  found  an  audience  already  called  together  and  waiting  for 
him.  On  every  such  occasion  the  subject  of  his  discourse  were  the 
principles  of  the  new  reformation  which  he  felt  called  to  advocate. 
This  is  characteristically  illustrated  on  a  trip  he  made  to  Philadelphia 
and  the  East  to  collect  money  among  Baptist  churches  to  build  a 
Baptist  meeting-house  in  Charlestown,  Virginia.  His  wife's  father 
and  mother,  shortly  after  the  union  with  the  Redstone  Association, 
were  immersed  and  received  into  the  Brush  Run  church.  This 
church  had  decided  by  a  vote  to  move  as  a  body  to  Zanesville,  Ohio ; 
but  to  prevent  the  removal  of  Campbell  and  his  wife,  her  father,  Mr. 
Brown,  deeded  to  his  son-in-law  his  farm.  Finding  himself  thus 
cumbered  with  his  new  possessions  he  concluded  not  to  emigrate 
with  the  church  to  Ohio.  This  action  resulted  in  the  abandonment 
of  the  enterprise  by  the  entire  congregation. 

Mr.  Brown  removed  his  family  to  Charlestown  to  engage  in 
business.  His  church  membership  was  placed  with  the  Baptist 
Church  at  Cross  Creek,  three  miles  from  Charlestown.  Charlestown 
was  without  a  meeting-house  of  any  kind.  To  provide  one  for  the 
use  of  the  Baptists,  Mr.  Campbell  volunteered  his  services  for  four 
months  to  solicit  funds.  He  went  to  Philadelphia  and  was  invited  by 
a  Baptist  pastor  to  occupy  his  pulpit.  He  delivered  two  discourses 
to  the  congregation,  dwelling  upon  his  favorite  views  of  the  gospel. 
They  awakened  opposition  at  once  in  the  Baptist  pastor,  who  was 
careful  not  to  invite  him  again  into  his  pulpit.  His  journey  took  him 
to  Trenton  and  other  towns  in  New  Jersey,  and  to  New  York,  and 
Washington  City.    In  all  of  these  places  he  came  into  immediate 

27 


38 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  LAW 


contact  with  Baptists.  He  returned  home  with  about  one  thousand 
dollars  with  which  a  meeting-house  was  soon  erected  in  Charlestown. 
The  erection  of  this  house  gave  offense  to  the  Baptist  pastor  at 
Cross  Creek,  by  the  name  of  Pritchard,  one  of  the  three  or  four 
ministers  who  opposed  the  reception  of  the  Brush  Run  church.  He 
regarded  it  as  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Campbell  to  weaken  his 
church  at  Cross  Creek  only  three  miles  away. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  Redstone  Association  was  at  hand.  It 
met  August  30,  1816,  at  Cross  Creek.  Mr.  Campbell  came  as  a 
messenger  from  the  Brush  Run  church.  At  these  meetings  the 
various  preachers  present,  whom  the  people  desired  to  hear,  were  put 
on  the  program  for  sermons.  More  than  any  other  preacher  in  the 
Association  the  people  were  eager  to  hear  Mr.  Campbell,  and  he 
was  put  on  the  program.  But  Mr.  Pritchard  objected  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  near  Mr.  Campbell's  home,  so  that  the  people  could  hear 
him  any  time.  There  was  a  kind  of  unwritten  law,  to  which  he 
appealed,  that  those  preachers  who  came  from  a  distance  should  be 
honored  with  a  place  on  the  program.  The  name  of  Elder  Stone  was 
substituted  for  that  of  Mr.  Campbell.  This  change,  however,  did 
not  suit  the  majority  of  the  Association,  and  very  conveniently  Elder 
Stone  was  taken  sick ;  so  that  the  name  of  Mr.  Campbell  went  back 
on  the  program.  He  preached  from  the  passage  in  Romans  8:3, 
the  famous  Sermon  on  the  Law,  which  created  such  excitement  sub- 
sequently in  the  Baptist  community.  The  biographer  of  Mr.  Campbell 
represents  that  an  attempt  was  made  to  disturb  the  meeting,  on 
account  of  the  fainting  of  a  woman  in  the  audience.  This  sermon  was 
a  complete  exposition  of  the  views  he  had  adopted  as  early  as  18 12 
on  the  relations  of  the  two  covenants.  He  maintained  the  position  that 
the  Christian  is  not  under  the  law  of  Moses  or  the  old  covenant; 
that  the  old  covenant,  which  was  one  of  circumcision  and  works, 
had  been  abrogated,  and  was  therefore  not  binding  upon  Christians ; 
and  that  when  Jesus  sent  out  his  apostles  to  preach  he  instructed 
them  to  preach  the  gospel,  not  the  law,  as  a  means  to  conversion. 
During  the  delivery  of  it,  writes  Mr.  Campbell  in  the  Millennial 
Harbinger  of  1848,  page  348,  "  an  over-zealous  elder  called  a  council 
of  the  preachers  and  proposed  to  have  me  forthwith  condemned 
before  the  people  by  a  formal  declaration  from  the  stand  —  repudi- 
ating my  discourse  as  not  Baptist  doctrine."  One  of  the  elders,  still 
living  and  still  a  Baptist,  said,  "  Elder  Pritchard,  I  am  not  yet  pre- 
pared to  say  whether  it  be  or  be  not  Bible  doctrine,  but  one  thing  I 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  LAW 


29 


can  say,  were  we  to  make  such  an  annunciation,  we  would  sacrifice 
ourselves  and  not  Mr.  Campbell."  The  criticism  of  the  sermon 
became  so  severe  that  he  was  obliged  to  have  it  printed  to  avoid 
misunderstanding,  and  allow  of  a  careful  reading  by  the  public.  A 
movement  was  at  once  set  on  foot  to  charge  Mr.  Campbell  with 
heresy  and  have  his  sermon  condemned  at  the  next  regular  meeting  of 
the  Association  at  Peter's  Creek  in  18 17.  The  question  was  brought 
up  and  a  discussion  upon  it  was  begun,  but  through  the  intervention 
of  friends,  it  was  dropped.  At  this  meeting  in  1816  Thomas  Campbell 
brought  a  letter  from  a  church  of  immersed  believers  in  Pittsburg, 
whither  he  had  moved  the  preceding  year,  requesting  union  as  a 
church  with  the  Association.  The  minutes  of  the  Association  read: 
"  Voted,  that  as  this  letter  is  not  presented  according  to  the  consti- 
tution of  this  Association,  the  request  cannot  be  granted."  ^  The 
Association  had  learned  greater  carefulness  by  their  experience  in 
admitting  the  Brush  Run  church,  and  were  wary  of  any  more  acces- 
sions through  the  recommendation  of  the  Campbells.  The  relations 
between  them  and  the  Association  began  already  to  be  somewhat 
strained  and  formal.  The  cry  that  had  been  raised  against  Mr.  Camp- 
bell succeeded  in  closing  the  ears  of  many  people,  and  the  doors  of 
many  churches  against  his  teachings.  He  says :  Till  this  time  we  had 
labored  much  among  the  Baptists  with  good  effect " ;  but  now,  he 
says,  "  I  itinerated  less  than  before  in  my  labors  in  the  gospel  and 
confined  my  attention  to  three  or  four  little  communities  constituted 
on  the  Bible,  one  in  Ohio,  one  in  Virginia,  and  two  in  Pennsylvania. 
Once  or  twice  a  year  I  made  excursions  amongst  the  Regular  Bap- 
tists, but  with  little  hope  of  being  useful  to  the  Redstone  Associa- 
tion." 

His  time  and  strength  were  measurably  occupied  in  the  man- 
agement of  a  seminary,  chiefly  for  young  men,  called  "  Buffalo  Semi- 
nary." This  was  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  minds 
of  young  men  under  the  influence  of  his  teachings,  and  thus  of  pro- 
viding co-laborers  to  share  with  him  the  work  of  reformation.  This 
was  but  another  step  in  the  prosecution  of  the  plan  outlined  in  the 
Declaration  and  Address,  "  to  support  a  pure  gospel  ministry,  that 
shall  reduce  to  practice  that  whole  form  of  doctrine  worship,  dis- 
cipline and  government  expressly  revealed  and  enjoined  in  the  word 
of  God."  The  steadily  ruling  purpose  from  which  he  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  turned  for  a  moment,  was  to  reform  the  existing 

^  Memoirs,  I.  480. 


30 


THE  SERMON  ON  THE  LAW 


churches  and  establish  new  ones  after  the  model  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. For  this  purpose  the  Baptist  Church  seemed  to  offer  a  more 
suitable  platform,  and  the  Baptist  people  a  more  fruitful  field  than 
any  other. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  when  Mr.  Campbell  came  among 
the  Baptists  he  stipulated  as  the  condition  of  union  with  them,  the 
preservation  of  his  independence,  so  that  in  becoming  a  Baptist  he 
did  not  become  a  party  man,"  and  never  so  regarded  himself.  This 
is  clear  from  a  letter  he  wrote  to  an  uncle  in  Ireland  in  1815  :  "  For 
my  own  part,  I  must  say  that,  after  long  study  and  investigation  of 
books,  and  more  especially  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  I  have  through 
clear  convictions  of  truth  and  duty,  renounced  much  of  the  traditions 
and  errors  of  my  early  education.  I  am  now  an  Independent  in 
church  government ;  of  that  faith  and  view  of  the  gospel  exhibited 
in  John  Walker's  Seven  Letters  to  Alexander  Knox,  and  a  Baptist 
so  far  as  regards  baptism.  What  I  am  in  religion  I  am  from  exam- 
ination, reflection,  and  conviction,  not  from  '  ipse  dixit '  tradition  or 
human  authority."  ^ 

He  was  possessed  at  this  time  with  the  conviction  that  a  reforma- 
tion was  needed  in  the  religious  world.  He  felt  that  many  things 
needed  setting  right  among  the  Baptists.  He  never  lost  an  opportu- 
nity of  pointing  out  the  things  that  were  wanting.  It  will  be  observed 
that  his  marriage  to  Miss  Brown  had  already  taken  place,  which 
placed  his  support  beyond  all  uncertainty.  His  circumstances  were 
peculiarly  fortunate  for  doing  the  work  he  set  himself  to  do.  His 
own  father  was  without  any  property,  so  he  could  not  look  in  that 
direction  for  means  to  support  himself  in  his  work  of  reformation. 
His  living  would  have  been  of  the  most  precarious  sort  itinerating 
as  he  did  far  and  near  in  the  surrounding  country.  He  was  now 
perfectly  independent  in  fortune  so  that  he  had  nothing  to  fear  from 
offending  the  cherished  beliefs  of  men.  They  could  not  cut  off  his 
support,  for  he  was  not  dependent  upon  them.  Whether  he  had  in 
him  the  stuff  out  of  which  martyrs  are  made,  there  is  no  means  of 
knowing,  for  he  was  raised  above  the  danger  of  suffering  in  either 
body  or  estate,  whatever  course  he  might  pursue.  Interesting  light 
is  thrown  upon  his  inner  purposes  by  a  recital  of  the  special  in- 
stances of  Divine  power  which,"  he  says,  "  I  consider  to  bind  me 
under  obligation  to  be  specially  devoted  to  him,  with  my  whole  mind, 
soul  and  body."   "  In  the  particular  persecution  that  befell  my  father, 

^  Memoirs,  I.  466. 


THE  SERMON  OX  THE  LAW 


31 


which  shut  up  any  prospects  of  support  in  the  exercise  of  that  office, 
yet  in  my  giving  it  the  preference."  "  In  my  favorable  and  easy 
circumstances  for  that  purpose."  *'  In  giving  me  a  choice  companion 
congenial  to  my  inclination  of  serving  him.''  "  In  my  desire  to  suiter 
hardships  and  reproaches  in  that  good  work."  ^  "  These  memora- 
bilia of  the  heart  "  were  written  December  25,  181 1.  As  to  his  suf- 
ferings from  reproaches,  they  do  not  seem  to  have  been  of  a  very 
poignant  nature.  Constituted  as  he  was,  he  drew  them  upon  himself 
and  they  finally  became  the  conditions  of  his  keenest  intellectual 
activity,  while  they  in  no  wise  robbed  him  of  any  peace  of  mind. 
Notwithstanding  the  attempt  of  a  few  Baptists  to  cut  off  his  influ- 
ence with  the  denomination  in  that  region,  he  seems  to  have  grown 
in  favor  and  stood  high  in  its  confidence. 

When  the  Baptist  faith  stood  challenged  to  public  vindication, 
all  eyes  turned  toward  the  brilliant  and  versatile  disputant  from  the 
Buffalo  Seminary,  and  he  was  unanimously  chosen  by  the  Baptists  as 
their  champion. 

^  Memoirs,  I.  380. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  DEBATES  WITH  JOHN  WALKER  AND  W.  L.  MACCALLA. 

In  the  spring  of  1820,  ^Ir.  Campbell  was  urged  to  debate  the 
question  of  baptism  with  a  Presbyterian  minister  by  the  name  of 
John  Walker.  A  Baptist  minister  by  the  name  of  John  Birch  had 
baptized  an  unusual  number  of  persons,  near  Mt.  Pleasant,  Ohio,  in 
the  fall  of  18 19.  This  aroused  the  zeal  of  Mr.  Walker,  the  Pres- 
byterian minister  of  the  same  place,  who  thought  the  best  way  to 
promote  the  gospel  or  check  the  progress  of  the  Baptists,  was  to 
show  the  error  of  Baptist  ways.  A  personal  dispute  arose  between 
the  two  ministers  over  something  Mr.  Walker  had  quoted ;  and  led 
to  a  challenge  by  Mr.  Walker  to  Mr.  Birch  or  any  other  Baptist 
minister  of  good  standing  whom  Mr.  Birch  might  choose,  to  debate 
the  question  of  baptism.  The  challenge  was  accepted,  and  Mr.  Birch 
wrote  at  once  to  Alexander  Campbell  asking  him  to  undertake  the 
discussion.  Mr.  Campbell  did  not  reply  at  once.  This  brought  forth 
a  second  and  a  third  request  from  Mr.  Birch  before  he  received  an 
answer  from  Mr.  Campbell.  The  reason  for  the  delay  was  Mr. 
Campbell's  reluctance  to  introduce  such  subjects  into  public  debate. 
He  did  not  believe  it  would  promote  either  the  truth,  or  the  union 
of  Christians.  The  following  letter  addressed  to  him  by  Mr.  Birch, 
IMarch  27,  broke  down  his  opposition :  "  Dear  Brother :  I  once  more 
undertake  to  address  you  by  letter;  as  we  are  commanded  not  to 
weary  in  well-doing,  I  am  disposed  to  persevere.  I  am  coming  this 
third  time  unto  you.  I  can  not  persuade  myself  that  you  will  refuse 
to  attend  to  the  dispute  with  Mr.  Walker,  therefore  I  do  not  feel  dis- 
posed to  complain  because  you  have  sent  me  no  answer.  True,  I 
have  expected  an  answer,  signifying  your  aceptance  of  the  same. 
I  am  as  yet  disappointed,  but  am  not  ofifended  nor  discouraged.  I 
can  truly  say  it  is  the  unanimous  wish  of  all  the  church  to  which  I 
belong,  that  you  should  be  the  disputant.  It  is  Brother  Nathaniel 
Skinner's  desire ;  it  is  the  wish  of  all  the  brethren  with  whom  I  have 
conversed,  that  you  should  be  the  man."  ^ 

The  debate  took  place  June  19  and  20,  1820,  at  Mt.  Pleasant, 
Ohio,  twenty-three  miles  from  Mr.  Campbell's  home.   The  subject 

^Memoirs,  11.  15. 

32 


DEBATES  WITH  WALKER  AND  MACCALLA 


33 


of  the  debate  as  stated  in  the  fourth  rule  of  the  discussion,  was  to  be 
the  proper  subject  of  the  ordinance  of  baptism,  then  the  mode  of 
baptism."  The  debate  was  to  continue  from  day  to  day  until  the 
people  were  satisfied,  or  the  moderators  thought  that  enough  had 
been  said  on  each  topic  of  debate.  Mr.  Walker  was  to  open  and  Mr. 
Campbell  was  to  close  the  debate.  The  propositions  which  he  pro- 
posed to  maintain  were :  That  baptism  came  in  the  room  of  cir- 
cumcision; that  the  covenant  on  which  the  Jewish  church  was 
built,  and  to  which  circumcision  was  the  seal,  is  the  same 
with  the  covenant  on  which  the  Christian  church  is  built,  and 
to  which  baptism  is  the  seal;  that  the  Jews  and  the  Christians  are 
the  same  body  politic  under  the  same  law-giver  and  husband, 
.  .  .  .  consequently  the  infants  of  believers  have  a  right  to 
baptism." 

Nothing  could  have  been  stated  more  clearly  than  these  proposi- 
tions. No  one  could  have  held  more  diametrically  opposite  views 
than  Mr.  Campbell.  The  question  of  the  covenants  was  familiar 
ground  to  him.  He  had  been  in  training  for  the  last  eight  years  to 
meet  these  propositions.  He  knew  the  ground  from  first  to  last.  The 
principles  set  forth  in  the  "  Sermon  on  the  Law,"  which  were  con- 
sidered as  rank  heresy  by  the  Baptists  of  1816,  were  now  marshaled 
in  refutation  of  these  propositions.  The  disputants  traversed  other 
ground  usually  fought  over  between  Baptists  and  Pedobaptists  of 
that  time,  such  as  the  question  of  household  baptisms  " ;  but  the 
stronghold  of  Mr.  Walker's  position  was  the  identity  of  the  two 
covenants.  This  proven,  it  carried  everything  else  with  it,  down  to 
infant  membership  in  the  church.  At  this  citadel  Mr.  Campbell 
aimed  all  the  shafts  of  his  dialectic.  It  would  be  interesting  to  fol- 
low the  two  disputants  through  all  the  windings  of  their  arguments ; 
but  I  am  only  concerned  to  point  out  that  Mr.  Campbell's  position 
concerning  the  abrogation  of  the  old  covenant  by  the  institution  of 
the  new,  though  strange  and  heretical  to  the  Baptists  of  that  day, 
was  the  only  possible  reply  to  be  made  to  the  propositions  of  Mr. 
Walker.  They  could  not  have  been  met  on  any  other  ground  with 
any  hope  of  success.  Mr.  Walker  himself  seems  to  have  felt  the 
weakening  of  his  position  under  the  fire  of  Mr.  Campbell,  and  to 
have  abandoned  it  for  another  position,  the  argument  from  antiquity. 

From  the  proper  subject  for  baptism,  the  debaters  passed  to  the 
mode  of  baptism.  The  usual  ground  was  gone  over  as  in  all  the 
baptismal  controversies  of  the  day.   Mr.  Campbell  took  occasion  dur- 


34 


DEBATES  WITH  WALKER  AND  MACCALLA 


ing  the  debate  to  interject  very  much  of  his  reformatory  teaching, 
and  went  out  of  his  way  to  nail  false  rumors  about  his  teaching. 
Addressing  himself  to  the  charge  that  he  was  "  changeable,"  he  says : 
have  to  this  day  undeviatingly  pursued  the  same  course  which  I 
commenced  nearly  as  soon  as  I  was  of  age,  and  have  now  prosecuted 
it  for  almost  ten  years,  viz.,  to  teach,  to  believe,  to  practice  nothing 
in  religion  for  which  I  can  not  present  positive  precept  or  approved 
precedent  from  the  word  of  God."  The  charge  that  he  was  an 
antinomian  "  and  "  threw  away  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures," 
he  brands  as  "  malicious  and  unfounded  insinuations,"  and  vile 
slanders."  In  the  midst  of  the  discussion  he  took  occasion  to  an- 
nounce an  entirely  novel  position  concerning  the  design  of  baptism, 
for  the  first  time  clearly  set  forth  by  him.  "  Baptism,"  he  said,  is 
connected  with  the  promise  of  the  remission  of  sins  and  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit."  He  did  not  dwell  upon  it  or  show  its  implications 
then ;  probably  he  had  not  fully  thought  them  out.  But  this  was  the 
first  utterance  of  a  doctrine  w^hich  more  than  any  other  was  to  sep- 
arate him  in  thought  from  the  Baptists.  At  the  close  of  the  debate 
he  issued  a  challenge  to  "  any  Pedobaptist  minister  of  any  denomina- 
tion "  to  debate  with  him  the  influence  of  infant  sprinkling  on  the 
well-being  of  society.  The  victory  of  the  contest,  so  the  narrator 
of  the  events  relates,  lay  with  Mr.  Campbell.  Whether  this  was  due 
more  to  his  superior  ability  and  power  as  a  disputant  than  to  the 
merit  of  the  argument,  must  be  left  to  each  mind  to  decide. 

This  was  the  first  great  opportunity  of  his  life  to  disseminate  his 
views.  The  Baptists  were  present  in  great  numbers  and  felt  a  keen 
pride  in  their  champion,  yet  "  remained  extremely  dubious  in  regard 
to  the  orthodoxy  of  their  champion."  ^  The  debate  was  printed  and 
sent  forth  into  the  religious  communities  of  the  region  and  aided 
very  much  in  correcting  false  reports  of  the  teaching  of  Mr.  Camp- 
bell. A  very  important  consequence  grew  out  of  the  publication  of 
this  debate  and  its  reading  by  a  Baptist  minister  by  the  name  of 
Adamson  Bentley.  This  man  lived  at  Warren,  Ohio.  He  was  of 
great  influence  among  the  Baptists  and  stood  deservedly  high.  He 
is  reported  to  have  said  when  he  heard  some  one  trying  to  injure  Mr. 
Campbell,  that  he  thought  Mr.  Campbell  had  done  more  for  the 
Baptists  than  any  man  in  the  West.  The  first  opportunity  that 
offered  itself,  he  went  to  visit  him.  This  took  place  in  the  summer 
of  1 82 1.  He  was  accompanied  by  Sidney  Rigdon,  then  a  Baptist 
^Memoirs,  II.  43. 


DEBATES  WITH  WALKER  AND  MACCALLA 


35 


preacher  of  great  oratorical  power,  who  later  made  his  name  conspic- 
uous by  his  conversion  to  Mormonism.  ]\Ir.  Campbell  was  repeatedly 
urged  to  visit  the  Baptist  churches  of  the  Western  Reserve^  but 
especially  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  Mahoning  Association,  which 
was  organized  in  August,  1820.  The  Baptist  ministers  were  in  the 
habit  of  holding  ministers'  meetings  once  a  year  in  different  sections 
of  Ohio.  To  all  these  meetings  Mr.  Campbell  was  accustomed  to  go. 
They  were  open  to  him  for  addresses,  and  were  characterized  by 
the  freest  discussion  and  criticism.  He  joined  with  the  Baptist  min- 
isters and  bore  a  very  large  part  in  their  deliberations.  Speaking 
of  his  appreciation  of  the  opportunity  of¥ered  him  in  these  meetings 
for  the  dissemination  of  his  views,  he  says :  "  These  meetings  were 
not  appreciated  too  highly,  as  the  sequel  developed,  inasmuch  as  they 
disabused  the  minds  of  the  Baptist  ministry  in  the  Mahoning  Asso- 
ciation of  much  prejudice,  and  prepared  the  way  for  a  great  change 
of  views  and  practice  all  over  those  3,000,000,  acres  of  nine  counties 
which  constitute  the  Western  Reserve."  In  this  connection^  to 
anticipate  the  sequel  of  which  he  speaks,  and  to  emphasize  the  impor- 
tance of  this  movement,  let  it  be  said  that  the  Baptist  churches  of 
the  entire  Western  Reserve  with  few  exceptions  went  over  to  the 
views  of  Mr.  Campbell  and  joined  the  "  reformation  "  when  the  sep- 
aration took  place.  This  introduction  to  the  Mahoning  Association 
marks  the  period  of  his  enlarged  intercourse  with  the  Baptist 
churches.^  The  demands  for  his  services  as  a  preacher  were  becom- 
ing so  constant  and  urgent  that  he  was  obliged  to  discontinue  his 
school. 

The  challenge  which  he  issued  at  the  close  of  the  debate  with 
John  Walker  was  heard  from  in  May,  1823.  It  had  been  read  by  a 
Presbyterian  minister  of  Kentucky  by  the  name  of  Maccalla,  who 
sent  Mr.  Campbell  a  letter  intimating  his  willingness  to  accept  it. 
After  a  long  correspondence  on  the  propositions  and  conditions  of 
the  debate,  it  was  finally  arranged  to  take  place  in  October,  1823,  at 
Washington,  Kentucky.  Before  the  time  arrived  for  the  debate,  he 
transferred  his  membership  from  the  Redstone  Association  to  the 
Mahoning.  His  enemies  in  the  former  had  been  busy  from  the  days 
of  the  Sermon  on  the  Law,"  seven  years  before,  working  up  a 
majority  against  him  in  the  Association,  so  that  they  could  expel 
him.  The  time  was  not  ripe  for  this  until  the  meeting  of  August, 
1823.   To  defeat  their  purpose  he  asked  letters  for  himself  and  sev- 

^  Memoirs,  11.  48. 


36 


DEBATES  WITH  WALKER  AND  MACCALLA 


eral  other  persons  from  the  Brush  Run  church  to  form  a  new  church 
at  Wellsburg,  formerly  called  Charlestown,  where  he  had  built  the 
new  church.  The  purpose  was  that  this  new  church  might  after- 
wards join  the  Mahoning  Association,  where  the  Baptists  were  more 
favorable  to  him  and  his  views.  The  letters  were  granted  and  the 
church  organized,  thus  severing  his  connection  with  the  Redstone 
Association.  When  the  question  of  Mr.  Campbell's  exclusion  came 
up  at  the  meeting,  his  critics  suddenly  found  he  had  slipped  out  of 
their  hands.  He  was  no  longer  under  their  jurisdiction.  He  desired 
to  preserve  himself  from  censure  by  the  Baptists,  so  that  he  v/ould 
not  have  to  go  to  Kentucky  to  debate  under  the  ban  of  his  own 
denomination. 

The  debate  took  place  as  has  been  stated,  at  Washington,  Ken- 
tucky. The  subject  was  the  same  as  that  in  the  debate  with  Walker, 
the  proper  subject,  and  the  form  of  baptism..  Mr.  Maccalla  took 
the  same  position  as  Mr.  Walker  in  proof  of  the  validity  of  infant 
baptism,  namiely,  That  the  Christian  church  is  a  branch  of  the 
Abrahamic  —  that  Jewish  circumcision  before  Christ  and  Christian 
baptism  after  Christ  are  one  and  the  same  seal."  Mr.  Campbell  of 
course  rehearsed  the  positions  he  had  taken  against  Mr.  Walker.  He 
advanced,  however,  beyond  the  teaching  of  that  debate,  and  pro- 
duced a  new  argument  against  infant  baptism  from  the  design  of 
baptism.  Here  he  developed  somewhat  fully  the  view  he  barely 
expressed  in  the  former  debate,  that  baptism  was  for  the  remission 
of  sins.  The  water  of  baptism,  then,  formally  washes  away  our 
sins.  The  blood  of  Christ  really  washes  away  our  sins.  Paul's  sins 
were  really  pardoned  when  he  believed.  Yet  he  had  no  solemn 
pledge  of  the  fact,  no  formal  acquittal,  no  formal  purgation  of  his 
sins  until  he  washed  them  away  in  the  water  of  baptism."  .  .  .  . 
"  The  value  and  importance  of  baptism  appear  from  this  view  of  it. 
It  also  accounts  for  baptism  being  called  '  the  washing  of  regenera- 
tion.' It  shows  us  a  good  and  valid  reason  for  the  dispatch  with 
which  this  ordinance  was  administered  in  the  primitive  church.  The 
believers  did  not  lose  a  momxcnt  in  obtaining  the  remission  of  their 
sins.  One  argument  from  this  topic  is  that  baptism  being  ordained 
to  be  to  a  believer  a  formal  and  personal  remission  of  all  his  sins, 
cannot  be  administered  unto  an  infant  without  the  greatest  perver- 
sion and  abuse  of  the  nature  and  import  of  this  ordinance.  Indeed 
why  should  an  infant  that  never  sinned,  that,  as  Calvinists  say  is 
guilty  only  of  *  original  sin  '  which  is  an  unit  —  be  baptized  for  the 


DEBATES  WITH  WALKER  AND  MACCALLA 


37 


remission  of  sins."  Mr.  Campbell  was  conscious  that  he  was  inno- 
vating on  Baptist  doctrine  in  this  construction  of  the  design  of  bap- 
tism. He  says :  ]\Iy  Baptist  brethren,  as  well  as  the  Pedobaptist 
brotherhood,  I  humbly  conceive,  require  to  be  admonished  on  this 
point.  You  have  been,  some  of  you,  no  doubt,  too  diffident  in  assert- 
ing this  grand  import  of  baptism."  '  Growing  immediately  out  of  this 
view  of  baptism  is  another  proposition,  to  which  he  gave  utterance  for 
the  first  time,  viz.,  '*  that  baptism  was  never  designed  for,  nor  com- 
manded to  be  administered  to,  a  member  of  the  church."  ^  He  ever 
after  regarded  baptism  as  the  way  into  the  church." 

The  debate  continued  seven  days.  Mr.  Campbell  had  chosen  as 
moderator  on  his  side,  Jeremiah  Vardeman,  a  widely  known  Baptist 
preacher  of  Kentucky,  who  was  said  to  have  immersed  more  persons 
than  any  other  man  of  the  same  age  in  the  United  States.  The 
debate  was  held  in  the  Baptist  meeting-house.  Mr.  Campbell  was 
regarded  as  the  champion  and  defender  of  Baptist  views  and  inter- 
ests in  Kentucky.  He  was  at  once  taken  into  confidence  by  Bap- 
tists. At  a  private  inter\dew  with  a  company  of  their  ministers,  he 
said :  "  Brethren,  I  fear  that  if  you  knew  me  better  you  would  esteem 
and  love  me  less.  For  let  me  tell  you  that  I  have  almost  as  much 
against  you  Baptists  as  I  have  against  the  Presb}i:erians."  *  He  had 
brought  with  him  the  first  few  numbers  of  the  "  Christian  Baptist," 
—  a  publication  he  had  just  started  to  advocate  his  views, —  and 
distributed  them  among  the  ministers.  They  eagerly  accepted  them 
and  proposed  their  wide  circulation  in  the  state.  He  was  urged  to 
make  a  tour  of  the  state  among  Baptist  churches.  He  went  so  far 
as  to  fill  a  few  appointments,  and  departed  from  the  state  promising 
to  return  the  next  fall  to  make  a  more  extended  tour. 

Mr.  Camxpbell  was  now  fully  persuaded  that  debates  were  a  good 
thing ;  as  he  said :  A  week's  debating  is  worth  a  year's  preach- 
ing." '  The  debate  was  attended  by  crowds  of  people.  Mr.  Camp- 
bell's reputation  as  one  of  the  first  pulpit  orators  of  the  day  was 
established ;  and  wherever  he  could  be  induced  to  speak,  he  was 
met  by  throngs  of  hearers.  His  most  important  reception  on  this 
trip  was  at  Lexington,  where  he  spoke  in  the  Baptist  church  over 

^  Debate  with  Maccalla,  144. 
^  Debate  with  Maccalla,  195. 
'  Debate  with  Maccalla,  234. 
'Memoirs,  11.  88. 

^  Introduction  to  Debate  with  Maccalla,  5. 


DEBATES  WITH  WALKER  AND  MACCALLA 


which  Dr.  James  Fishback  was  pastor.  He  was  not  by  any  means  a 
stranger  to  the  Baptists  of  the  state,  for  very  many  had  read  his 
debate  with  Walker,  and  one  young  man,  P.  S.  Fall,  a  minister  of 
growing  distinction,  had  read  his  Sermon  on  the  Law  "  as  early  as 
1822,  and  at  once  adopted  its  views  and  preached  them  to  the  Bap- 
tists at  Frankfort.  Many  Baptist  ministers  took  offense  at  its  doc- 
trines. He  persisted  in  his  teaching  and  became  the  first  Baptist 
preacher  in  Kentucky  to  adopt  openly  and  advocate  the  teachings 
of  Alexander  Campbell.'  Already  there  were  incipient  separations 
in  some  Baptist  communities  between  those  who  held  with  Mr. 
Campbell  and  those  who  opposed  his  doctrine.  In  Pittsburg,  Penn- 
sylvania, as  early  as  1824,  a  union  was  formed  between  two  congre- 
gations, one  presided  over  by  Walter  Scott,  who  was  in  thorough 
accord  with  Mr.  Campbell,  and  another  presided  over  by  Sidney 
Rigdon,  the  Regular  Baptist  preacher."  A  few  Baptists  who  refused 
to  join  this  union,  organized  a  Baptist  Church  which  was  recognized 
by  the  Association  as  the  only  legitimate  Baptist  church  in  Pitts- 
burg. 

^  Memoirs,  II.  94,  95. 
^  Memoirs,  II.  99. 


CHAPTER  V. 

"THE  CHRISTIAN  BAPTIST." 

It  was  through  the  pubHcation  of  the  debate  with  John  Walker 
that  Campbell  first  discovered  the  power  and  usefulness  of  the  press 
in  the  dissemination  of  his  views.  He  thereupon  determined  to  begin 
the  publication  of  a  paper.  The  question  of  a  name  for  the  paper 
gave  him  some  concern.  In  conference  with  his  friends,  chief  of 
whom  were  Walter  Scott  and  his  father,  he  decided  to  call  it  The  - 
Christian  Baptist  —  "a  title  adopted  not  without  debate,"  says 
Richardson,  since  the  term  Baptist  was  a  party  designation.  As 
the  reformers  were,  however,  at  this  time  identified  with  the  Bap- 
tists, it  was  thought  expedient,  in  order  to  avoid  offending  religious 
prejudice  and  to  give  greater  currency  to  the  principles  which  were 
to  be  presented,  to  make  this  concession  so  far  as  the  name  of  the 
paper  was  concerned,  qualifying  '  Baptist '  by  the  word  '  Christian.'  " 
Here  let  it  be  observed  that  Mr.  Campbell  still  regarded  his  rela- 
tionship with  the  Baptists  as  an  expediency.  In  the  prospectus  to 
The  Christian  Baptist  he  makes  it  clear  that  his  position  is  one  of 
independence  of  all  religious  parties.  "Its  sole  object  shall  be  the  evic- 
tion of  truth,  and  the  exposure  of  error  in  doctrine  and  practice.  The 
editor,  acknowledging  no  standard  of  religious  faith  or  works  other 
than  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  the  latter  as  the  only  stand- 
ard of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  will,  intentionally  at  least,  oppose 
nothing  which  it  contains,  and  recommend  nothing  which  it  does 
not  enjoin."  The  dedication  of  the  work  reads  as  follows:  "To 
all  those  without  distinction,  who  acknowledge  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  to  be  a  true  revelation  from  God,  and 
the  New  Testament  as  containing  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ ;  who, 
willing  to  have  all  religious  tenets  and  practices  tried  by  the  Divine 
Word ;  and  who,  feeling  themselves  in  duty  bound  to  search  the 
Scriptures  for  themselves  in  all  matters  of  religion,  are  disposed 
to  reject  all  doctrine  and  commandments  of  men,  and  to  obey  the 
truth,  holding  fast  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints  —  this  work 
is  most  respectfully  and  affectionately  dedicated  by  the  editor." 

This  was  a  forewarning  to  all  denominations  that  their  teachings 
and  practices  were  to  be  subjected  impartially,  as  far  as  he  was  able, 

39 


40 


THE  CHRISTIAN  BAPTIST 


to  the  test  of  Holy  Scripture.^  He  did  not  regard  any  denomina- 
tion of  that  day  as  occupying  "  New  Testament  ground,"  not  even 
the  Baptists.  The  first  number  of  The  Christian  Baptist,  which  was 
to  be  a  monthly,  appeared  August  3,  1823.  The  Baptists  regarded 
this  new  venture  with  grave  misgiving,  as  they  had  held  the  editor 
himself  in  doubt.  That  it  would  meet  with  open  opposition  and 
hostility  from  them  was  to  be  expected.  It  was  too  much  to  expect 
that  a  strong  body  of  people  like  the  Baptists  would  meekly  lay 
down  their  cherished  beliefs  and  usages  at  the  suggestion  of  any 
man,  and  accept  those  that  were  entirely  new.  The  editor  began  at 
once  in  the  very  earliest  numbers  to  "  expose  "  what  he  regarded 
as  the  pride,  worldliness  and  paganism  of  the  churches.  He  called 
up  for  review  and  caricature  in  successive  numbers,  "  missionary 
societies,"  "  ordination  of  the  clerg}',"  "  ministerial  calls,"  "  pew- 
rent  system,"  "  salaried  clergy-,"  Bible  societies,"  and  church 
associations." 

It  must  be  confessed  that  in  all  this  early  writing  there  is  an 
exaggeration  and  bitterness  of  spirit  which  Mr.  Campbell  himself 
lived  to  regret  and  abandon  for  a  milder  tone."  His  own  friends 
warned  him  of  the  unwisdom  of  such  immoderation.'  His  hand 
was  against  everything;  and  every  man's  hand  was  soon  against 
him."  His  spirit  of  iconoclasm  led  him  to  demolish  very  many  useful 
and  indispensable  customs  of  organized  Christianity.  He  opposed 
the  existing  missionary  societies  because  he  believed  that  they  were 
bound  up  with  many  errors  of  doctrine  and  practice.  He  said  in  The 
Christian  Baptist,  Vol.  III.,  page  59:  'We  have  long  considered  the 
various  societies  called  Missionary,  Bible,  Sunday  School,  and  Tract 
Societies,  as  great  religious  engines  fitted  and  designed  for  the  pre- 
dominance of  the  leading  sectaries  who  set  them  a-going,  and  ulti- 
mately tending  to  a  national  creed,  and  a  religious  establishment." 
In  his  impatience  he  did  not  take  time  to  separate  the  good  from  the 
bad.  One  example  of  the  extreme  to  which  he  went  was  his  conten- 
tion that  there  was  no  Xew  Testament  example  or  precept  for  the 
ordination  and  sending  out  of  a  modern  miissionary.  In  his  examina- 
tion of  the  apostolic  missionary  work  he  found  that  each  missionary 

^  Christian  Baptist,  II.  51. 

-  Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  419,  432. 

'  Christian  Baptist,  IV.  32. 

*  Christian  Baptist,  VII.  140. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  BAPTIST 


41 


possessed  the  power  of  working  miracles."  He  says :  "  The  Bible 
then,  gives  us  no  idea  of  a  missionary  without  the  power  of  working 
miracles.  Miracles  and  missionaries  are  inseparably  connected  in  the 
New  Testament."  "  From  these  plain  and  obvious  facts  and  con- 
siderations it  is  evident  that  it  is  a  capital  mistake  to  suppose  that 
missionaries  in  heathen  lands,  without  the  power  of  working  mir- 
acles, can  succeed  in  establishing  the  Christian  Religion." He 
thought  the  poor  success  of  modern  missionaries  bore  out  his  con- 
tention. He  still  believed  in  sending  the  gospel  to  the  heathen.  His 
solution  of  the  difficulty  was  to  send  entire  churches,  or  plant  little 
Christian  communities  on  heathen  soil,  not  primarily  to  preach  but  to 
live  the  gospel  and  exhibit  a  perfect  model  of  the  apostolic  church. 
He  held  that  the  church  as  an  institution  was  left  on  earth  to  take 
the  place  of  inspired  men  endowed  with  miraculous  gifts.  Such  was 
the  strange  and  impracticable  alternative  to  which  he  was  driven 
by  his  opposition  to  the  missionary  methods  of  the  day. 

In  other  things  he  was  equally  extreme  at  this  period.  One  of  his 
most  interesting  squibs  was  a  caricature  of  the  report  of  the  setting 
apart  of  a  minister  and  his  wife,  by  a  Baptist  General  Convention, 
as  miissionaries  to  Burmah.  He  parallels  this  report  with  the  report 
of  the  sending  out  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of 
Acts,  beginning:  ''On  Wednesday  the  nth  of  June,  A.  D.  44,  the  Rev. 
Saulus  Paulus  and  the  Rev.  Joses  Barnabas,  etc."  The  effect  of  the 
comparison  was,  of  course,  ridiculous,  but  it  was  only  superficially 
so.  The  ridiculousness  was  merely  in  the  bringing  together  of 
ancient  and  modern  forms  of  speech. 

During  the  first  year  of  the  publication  of  The  Christian  Baptist^ 
Mr.  Camipbell's  arraignment  of  Bible  societies  called  forth  a  gentle 
admonition  from  a  very  eminent  and  honored  V'irginia  Baptist,  Rob- 
ert Semple.  He  subscribes  himself  "  Robert  Cautious."  This  is  the 
beginning  of  that  important  but  not  ahvays  cordial  relation  between 
Campbell  and  the  Virginia  Baptists.  In  this  letter,  dated  November 
6,  1823,  i\Ir.  Semple  cautions  Mr.  Campbell  not  to  go  to  extremes 
in  his  opposition  to  error,  reminding  him  of  the  danger  of  "  running 
past  Jerusalem,  as  one  hastens  out  of  Babylon."  ^  The  two  men 
practically  held  the  same  views  concerning  the  need  of  reformation 
in  the  prevailing  church  organizations. 

^  Christian  Baptist,  I.  199,  203. 
*  Christian  Baptist,  I.  53. 
'  Christian  Baptist,  I.  127. 


42 


THE  CHRISTIAxX  BAPTIST 


In  the  fall  of  1824  ]^Ir.  Campbell  made  his  proposed  visit  to  Ken- 
tucky, just  one  year  after  his  former  visit  on  the  occasion  of  the  debate 
with  ]^Iaccalla.  This  was  an  opportunity  he  had  long  coveted  for  the 
purpose  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  the  Baptists  of  Kentucky 
and  inquiring  into  the  state  of  religion  there.  He  met  many  of  the 
leading  Baptist  ministers  for  the  first  time,  who  were  subsequently 
to  occupy  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  preaching  of  "  the  ancient  order 
of  things."  During  this  tour  he  was  the  guest  of  the  Baptists  in 
public  and  private.'  He  made  the  acquaintance  of  John  Smith,  Jacob 
Creath,  Sr.,  Jacob  Creath,  Jr.,  B.  W.  Stone,  Dr.  Silas  ^l.  Noel,  James 
Challen,  and  P.  S.  Fall. 

On  the  trip  to  eastern  Mrginia  in  October,  1825,  he  met  Robert 
Semple  and  Andrew  Broaddus,  both  of  them  leading  ministers  of 
the  Baptist  Church  in  Mrginia.  Robert  Semple  heard  Mr.  Campbell 
in  a  discourse  on  his  favorite  views,  and  afterward  engaged  with 
him  in  a  friendly  discussion  before  a  private  company.  ^Ir.  Semple 
seems  to  have  been  deeply  impressed  by  the  character  and  talents  of 
Mr.  Campbell,  but  did  not  adopt  his  views.  In  a  letter  to  him  after 
his  return  from  \'irginia,  Mr.  Semple  mildly  criticises  him  for  his 
severity  and  bitterness  of  criticism  in  his  writing,  as  compared  with 
the  gentleness  and  graciousness  of  his  manners  in  personal  inter- 
course. The  letter  begins  as  follows:  "  Dear  Sir  —  According  to 
my  promise  to  you  (and  I  may  say  to  God  also)  I  commence  a  letter 
of  correspondence  with  you.  Your  preaching  among  us  reminded 
me  of  ApoUos  who  displayed,  as  we  moderns  say,  great  talents,  or  as 
the  Scriptures  say,  *  was  an  eloquent  man  and  mighty  in  the  Scrip- 
tures.' Apollos,  however,  with  all  his  eloquence  and  might  in  the 
Scriptures,  submitted  to  be  taught  the  way  of  God  more  perfectly, 
and  that,  too,  by  a  mechanic  and  his  wife."  He  goes  on  then  to 
say  that  Mr.  Campbell  seems  to  be  very  much  like  the  Sandemanians 
and  Haldanians  in  his  views  as  well  as  in  his  spirit,  because,"  he 
says,  "  I  have  known  some  of  their  party  who  have  appeared  in 
private  conversation  to  be  mild  and  gentle  indeed,  and  every  way 
pleasant;  but  when  brought  out  in  writing  or  speaking  seemed  to 
have  another  kind  of  temper.  If  you  will  bear  with  me  I  will  sug- 
gest that  this  seems  to  me  to  be  the  case  with  the  editor  of  The 
Christian  Baptist/' '  He  goes  on  to  counsel  him  of  the  excellence 

^Memoirs,  II.  107-122. 

*  Christian  Baptist,  III.  197. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  BAPTIST 


43 


of  the  grace  of  forbearance  toward  those  in  error.  Air.  Campbell, 
in  his  answer,  defends  his  severity  by  the  example  of  Jesus  and  the 
apostles  who  displayed  sharpness  toward  false  teachers."  Through- 
out all  the  numbers  of  The  Christian  Baptist  he  continued  his  criticism 
upon  what  he  deemed  the  erroneous  and  unscriptural  practices  of  all 
the  churches,  including  the  Baptist. 

I.  There  came  up  for  his  castigations  especially  the  clergy  — 
"  hireling  priests,"  "  textuary  divines,"  "  scrap  doctors,"  as  he  was 
fond  of  calling  them  —  and  the  theological  schools  which  he  called 
"  priest  factories." '  He  offered  to  prove  in  public  debate,  that  it 
was  no  part  of  the  revealed  design  of  the  Saviour  to  employ  clergy- 
men, or  an  order  of  men  resembling  the  priesthood,  in  the  diffusion, 
spread,  or  progress  of  his  religion  in  the  world.  In  brief,  that  the 
whole  Pedobaptist  priesthood  is  an  order  of  men  unauthorized  of 
heaven."  ^  By  clerg}-  he  meant  the  ministers  of  the  Protestant 
denominations  as  well  as  the  Roman  church.  He  allowed  himself 
to  believe  that  they  were  the  cause  of  the  barren  state  of  the 
church,  and  the  general  ignorance  of  the  people  concern- 
ing the  Scriptures.  As  a  body  they  appeared  to  him  ignorant,  self- 
seeking,  covetous  and  proud.  They  still  kept  the  people  in  a  kind 
of  bondage,  as  they  did  in  mediaeval  times  —  the  Protestant  clergy 
now,  as  the  Roman  clergy  then.  The  Protestant  clergy  bound  the 
people  to  their  teachings  and  in  a  measure  exercised  an  authority 
over  them.'  There  was  a  certain  personal  pique  in  all  his  fury  against 
them,  in  that  they  were  the  chief  obstacles  in  the  way  of  his  success 
with  the  people .  His  chief  grievances  against  them  were :  their 
affectation  of  piety,  in  dress,  speech  and  manners;  their  Calvinistic 
preaching;  their  zeal  and  devotion  to  party;  their  textual  preach- 
ing; and  their  pretentions  to  a  divine  call.  While  his  charges  and 
insinuations  were  aimed  at  the  clergy  as  a  class,  he  did,  however, 
admit  certain  bright  exceptions  among  them.  He  was  inclined  to 
except  the  Baptist  ministers  generally.  He  reprobated  especially  the 
use  of  titles  and  degrees,  "  reverend,"  "  bishop,"  "  doctor," etc., etc., as 
savoring  of  the  pharisaic  rabbinism  against  which  Jesus  protested.  In 
order  to  blot  out  the  distinction  which  the  title  "  bishop  "  carried  with 
it,  and  to  show  the  parity  of  the  terms  "  bishop  "  and  "  elder  "  in  the 

'Christian  Baptist,  I.  15,  61;   II.  217;   III.  115;  IV.  8. 
^Christian  Baptist,  III.  15. 
^  Christian  Baptist,  II.  143. 


44 


THE  CHRISTIAN  BAPTIST 


Xew  Testament,  he  addressed  all  ministers  in  charge  of  lcx:al  con- 
gregations as  "  bishops." '  The  title  occurs  repeatedly  throughout 
the  columns  of  The  Christian  Baptist  in  application  to  Baptist  preach- 
ers. It  meant  no  more  than  that  a  man  was  in  chars^e  of  a  church  and 
a  recognized  minister  of  the  gospel.  He  took  peculiar  delight  in 
leveling  up  clerical  titles.  He  was  sure  to  speak  in  commendation  of 
a  preacher  who  refused  to  accept  a  D.D.  degree  when  offered  him. 
*'  We  are  sorr\-  to  observe  a  hankering  after  titles  amongst  some 
Baptists,  every  way  incompatible  with  their  profession."  "  We  have 
not  met  with  any  Baptist  bishop  who  is  more  worthy  of  a  title  of 
honor,  if  such  these  double  D's  be  esteemed,  than  Robert  B.  Semple, 
of  Virginia ;  and  when  the  degree  was  conferred  on  him,  he,  like  a 
Christian,  declined  it.'' '  He  printed  in  Vol.  11.,  280,  of  The  Christian 
Baptist  what  he  called  the  Third  Epistle  of  Peter  "  to  the  "  preach- 
ers and  rulers  of  congregations."  It  purported  to  have  been  written 
by  the  apostle  Peter,  but  had  been  lost  to  the  church  until  recently 
discovered  by  a  monk,  and  instructed  preachers  to  live  well,  wxar 
the  best  clothes,  be  called  by  high-sounding  titles,  fleece  the  people, 
drink  the  most  costly  wines  as  was  their  due,  etc.,  etc.  It  was 
designed  to  burlesque  the  conduct  of  a  few,  and  the  ambitions  of  a 
great  many.  It  was  of  course  exaggerated  for  effect.  He  was 
opposed  to  a  minister  accepting  a  fixed  salary.  He  thought  it  savored 
of  bargaining  in  holy  things. 

2.  Xext  to  the  clergy-  he  aimed  his  sarcasms  and  criticisms  at 
the  assumed  authority  of  church  associations.  Among  the  Baptists 
they  consisted  of  the  churches  of  a  definite  territory,  freely  joined 
together  for  mutual  edification  and  acquaintance,  which  sent  messen- 
gers to  a  meeting  once  a  year.  In  ^Ir.  Campbell's  time  many  of  them 
had  come  to  be  legislative  and  judiciary  bodies  exercising  discipline 
over  individuals  and  churches,  and  adopting  and  imposing  creeds 
upon  the  churches.  The  extent  of  this  authority  varied  greatly  in 
different  associations.  In  some  cases  it  amounted  to  that  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  theor\'  of  Bap- 
tist faith  and  tradition  was  that  of  the  independence  or  essential 
autonomy  of  the  local  congregation.  In  certain  places  departure 
from  this  cherished  tradition  was  looked  upon  with  pain  even  by 
Baptists.  ^Ir.  Campbell  did  not  want  for  encouragement  from  Baptists 
themselves  in  his  vigorous  crusade  against  the  tyrannical  authority 

^  Christian  Baptist,  III.  154,  242. 
-  Christian  Baptist,  III.  165. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  BAPTIST 


45 


of  associations.  He  did  not  object  to  associations  of  churches  for 
purposes  of  mutual  advice,  edification  and  comfort,  but  because  of 
the  general  tendency  of  associations  to  become  judiciary  bodies,  he 
was  very  doubtful  of  their  usefulness.  This  feeling  was  extended 
among  many  churches,  and  was  embodied  in  the  questions  sent  from 
the  Baptist  church  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  to  the  Association :  Is 
there  any  authority  in  the  Xew  Testament  for  religious  bodies  to 
make  human  creeds  and  confessions  of  faith  the  constitution  or 
directories  of  such  bodies  in  matters  of  faith  or  practice  ?  "  Is  there 
any  authority  in  the  Xew  Testament  for  associations?  If  so,  what 
is  it?  If  not,  why  are  they  held?  "  The  church  at  Shelbyville,  Ken- 
tucky, sent  the  following  question :  "  Are  our  associations,  as  usually 
attended,  of  general  utility?  "  ^ 

There  is  not  wanting  abundant  evidence  of  the  tyranny  of  asso- 
ciations. There  was  opportunity  for  the  introduction  of  a  good  deal 
of  politics  or  wire-pulling  in  associations  that  assumed  the  role  of 
judicial  tribunals.  Whenever  a  party  in  the  association  desired  to 
carry  a  measure,  agents  w^ere  sent  around  to  the  various  churches 
composing  it,  before  the  election  of  messengers  or  delegates,  to 
secure  the  election  of  those  favorable  to  their  measures.  With  a 
packed  jury  the  dominant  party  was  thus  able  to  put  through  any 
action.  They  could  limit  or  cut  ofif  debate,  or  exclude  messengers 
by  fixing  the  conditions  of  membership  in  the  association.  The  w'ill 
of  the  minority  was  set  aside  w^ith  exact  adherence  to  parliamentary 
rules.  Under  Mr.  Campbell's  influence  several  associations  dis- 
banded and  reorganized  as  yearly  meetings  for  counsel  and  fellows- 
ship.'' 

3.  ]Mr.  Campbell  regarded  himself  as  especially  set  for  the  de- 
struction of  human  creeds.^  In  theory  the  Baptist  churches  of  that  day 
made  their  final  appeal  to  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  yet  with  few  excep- 
tions they  each  had  their  creed  to  which  they  required  subscription 
as  a  condition  of  membership  in  the  church.  The  "  Philadelphia 
Confession  "  was  w'idely  adopted  by  Baptist  churches  and  associations 
in  the  eastern  and  central  states  as  a  summary  of  true  Baptist  doc- 
trine." It  w^as  a  mild  revision  of  the  Westminster  Confession  of 
Faith,  to  adapt  it  to  Baptist  usage.   It  was  adopted  by  associations 

^  Christian  Baptist,  III.  154. 

-  Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  414 ;  Haj'den,  A.  S.,  "  Western  Reserve,"  297. 
^  Christian  Baptist,  V.  13. 
*  Christian  Baptist,  III.  91. 


46 


THE  CHRISTIAN  BAPTIST 


and  made  a  condition  of  membership  therein.  This  was  notably  the 
case  in  the  Redstone  Association  of  western  Pennsylvania,  of  which 
^Ir.  Campbell  was  at  one  time  a  member.  This  association  seems  to 
have  been  especially  creed-ridden  and  tyrannical.  On  one  occasion 
they  denied  representation  to  no  less  than  fourteen  congregations 
that  were  members  of  the  Association,  for  their  failure  to  mention, 
or  declare  allegiance  to  the  "  Philadelphia  Confession  "  in  the  letters 
they  sent  up  to  the  meeting  of  the  Association  by  the  hand  of  their 
messengers."  This  was  at  the  meeting  of  1827,  to  which  ]\Ir.  Campbell 
came  as  a  corresponding  messenger  from  the  ^lahoning  Association. 
Mr.  Campbell  observed  that  this  action  and  similar  action  on  the  part 
of  churches  and  associations  were  due  to  their  creeds  or  rules  of 
order  and  discipline,  not  to  the  example  or  precept  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. There  was  not  an  ill  or  disorder  in  the  church,  not  a  reproach 
upon  religion,  that  he  did  not  trace  directly  or  indirectly  to  the  use 
of  creeds.'  It  was  the  use  of  creeds  by  the  Baptists  that  appeared  to 
him  to  be  so  inconsistent  with  their  principles.  His  chief  objection 
to  them  was  their  abridgment  of  Christian  liberty.  He  declared  that 
so-called  "  confessions  of  faith  "  were  not  confessions  of  faith,  but 
of  opinion,  and  bound  a  man  or  a  church  where  they  should  be  free.' 
His  principle  was  that  perfect  freedom  and  liberty  should  be  granted 
to  all  opinions.  He  felt  that  creeds  were  the  bulwarks  of  clerical 
and  ecclesiastical  authority  and  tyranny.  He  saw  a  cunningly  de- 
vised system  in  the  religious  order  of  things,  which  he  regarded  as  a 
conspiracy  of  the  evil  one.  A  designing  clergy  made  use  of  councils 
and  associations  to  get  their  authority  and  pretentions  embodied  in 
articles  of  faith  or  creeds,  which  in  turn  strengthened  the  position 
of  both  clergy  and  councils.  Clergy,  creeds  and  councils  were  the 
links  in  the  chain  that  bound  the  common  people.  What  a  splendid 
and  effective  scheme !  The  people  were  the  innocent  creators  and 
victims  of  their  own  system.' 

The  entire  round  of  Christian  faith  and  practice,  not  only  among 
Baptist  churches,  but  all  the  churches,  was  brought  into  comparison 
with  apostolic  faith  and  practice.  He  attempted  in  the  pages  of  The 
Christian  Baptist  a  complete  exposition  of  what  he  regarded  as  the 

^  Christian  Baptist,  IV.  55  ;  II.  63. 

^  Christian  Baptist,  V.  16. 

'  Christian  Baptist,  III.  154. 

*  Christian  Baptist  I.  91 ;  II.  1-5 


THE  CHRISTIAN  BAPTIST 


47 


apostolic  faith  and  practice,  under  the  title,  "  The  Ancient  Order  of 
Things."  This  became  a  favorite  phrase,  a  kind  of  shibboleth  or 
watch-word,  for  those  who  shared  his  views.  It  was  inevitable  that 
sooner  or  later  his  course  would  give  rise  to  a  party  within  the  Bap- 
tist churches,  to  which  should  be  applied  a  distinguishing  name. 
This  came  to  pass  in  1826  when  "  some  religious  editors  in  Ken- 
tucky "  began  to  call  those  who  were  desirous  of  seeing  the  ancient 
order  of  things  restored,"  "  The  Restorationers,"  or  "  Campbellites," 
"  and  the  most  reproachful  epithets  were  showered  upon  them." ' 
Evidences  of  the  presence  of  this  element  in  Baptist  churches  are 
to  be  found  in  all  the  correspondence  of  this  period.  They  were 
easily  marked  by  their  incessant  talk  about  the  authority  of  the  New 
Testament  and  the  restoration  of  the  ancient  order  of  things.  Every- 
body knew  where  that  battle-cry  originated.  Where  whole  churches 
had  been  changed,  they  were  distinguished  from  other  Baptist 
churches  by  this  talk  of  reformation  ;  a  desire  to  measure  everything 
by  the  New  Testament  standard;  by  their  opposition  to  creeds,  the 
authority  of  the  clergy  and  associations ;  and  by  the  adoption  of  the 
weekly  and  open  communion  of  the  Lord's  supper."^ 

All  these  changes  did  not  take  place  without  opposition  from 
Regular  Baptists.  One  man  wrote  in  1825  :  "  I  request  you  to  send 
me  The  Christian  Baptist  no  more.  My  conscience  is  wounded  that  I 
should  have  subscribed  for  such  a  work.  It  is  a  religious  incendiary 
and  will  do  a  world  of  mischief."  Another  wrote :  "  Your  paper  is, 
I  fear,  a  disorganizer  and  I  doubt  not  it  will  prove  deistical  in  the 
end."  The  theological  students  of  Hamilton  Seminary,  New  York, 
sent  in  a  request  for  copies  of  The  Christian  Baptist  to  be  placed  in 
the  reading  rooms  of  the  "  Philomathesian  Society."  '  Mr.  Campbell 
continued  to  send  it  regularly.  After  a  short  period  he  received  a 
request  to  discontinue  in  the  following  mildly  worded  but  suggestive 
sentence :  "  For  reasons  which  we  are  willing  frankly  to  avow, 
our  society  has  recently  come  to  the  resolution  to  ask  you  to  dis- 
continue your  publication."  A  minority  of  the  students  did  not 
concur  in  this  request,  and  sent  a  message  of  regret  to  Mr.  Camp- 
bell. Spencer  Clack,  writing  from  Kentucky,  bears  witness  to  the 
discord  and  division  in  various  churches  on  account  of  Mr.  Camp- 


'  Christian  Baptist,  IV.  96 ;  V.  94,  262. 
^Christian  Baptist,  V.  210;  III.  286. 
'  Christian  Baptist,  IV.  84. 


48 


THE  CHRISTIAN  BAPTIST 


bell's  teaching.  He  says:  "  Some  are  for  yon,  others  against  you; 
some  approve,  others  censure  and  condemn;  such  is  the  state  of 
affairs;  such  the  effect  produced  by  your  writing.  But  let  me  ask 
what  is  the  great  good  which  such  divisions  will  achieve  ?  "  ^ 

Alexander  Campbell  was  made  the  subject  of  many  a  public 
warning  from,  the  pulpit,  m.any  a  set  of  resolutions  by  Baptist  asso- 
ciations, and  many  an  editorial  in  Baptist  papers.'  One  church  in 
Kentucky  sent  the  following  query  to  the  Association :  What  must 
a  church  do  with  her  preacher  who  has  embraced  Campbellism  ?  "  * 
An  amusing  incident  occurred  in  Virginia.  A  company  of  persons 
had  been  baptized  by  a  Baptist  minister  in  what  was  called  the  new 
way ;  that  is,  instead  of  saying  "  I  baptize  thee  in  the  name,"  etc.,  the 
preacher  said,  I  immerse  thee,"  etc.  This  was  looked  upon  as  dis- 
orderly by  the  Regular  Baptist  churches,  so  that  they  refused  to 
admit  such  persons  into  their  churches  on  such  baptism,  and  insisted 
on  a  rebaptism.  A  colored  man  had  been  one  thus  baptized.  He 
desired  to  unite  with  a  congregation  and  was  accordingly  rebaptized. 
As  he  was  coming  out  of  the  water  he  exclaimed :  "  I  ain't  no  Camp- 
bellite  now."  *  Baptist  newspapers  were  enlisted  against  the  innova- 
tions, especially  The  Pittsburg  Recorder,  The  Western  Lumin- 
ary, The  Baptist  Recorder  of  Kentucky,  and  The  Columbian 
Star  of  Philadelphia.  In  The  Baptist  Recorder  of  1828  Robert 
Semple  declared:  ''The  Christian  Baptist  has  doubtless  exhibited 
many  valuable  pieces  and  principles;  but,  taken  as  a  whole,  I  am 
persuaded  it  has  been  more  mischievous  than  any  publication  I 
have  ever  known.  The  ability  of  the  editor,  joined  to  the  plaus- 
ibility of  his  plans  or  doctrines,  has  succeeded  in  sowing  the 
seeds  of  discord  among  brethren  to  an  extent  in  many  places  alarm- 
ing." *  The  paper  was  circulated  widely  among  Baptists,  and  it  may 
be  truly  said  that  it  was  read  chiefly  by  them.  Responding  to  a  state- 
ment by  the  editor  of  The  Baptist  Recorder  in  1828,  "  We  are  of 
opinion  that  Campbell  has  lost  100  per  cent  in  Kentucky  or  more 
v/ithin  a  year,"  Mr.  Campbell  says :      The  fact  is  that  The  Christian 

^  Christian  Baptist,  V.  12,  82. 
"  Christian  Baptist,  V.  206. 
'  Christian  Baptist,  V.  262. 
*  Christian  Baptist,  VII.  79. 

^Christian  Baptist,  VIL  59,  152,  174,  214,  217;  V.  11,  260;  III.  257. 
Christian  Baptist,  V.  199. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  BAPTIST 


49 


Baptist  is  more  generally  read  and  has  more  subscribers  this  year 
in  Kentucky  than  it  has  ever  had  before.  In  Virginia,  too,  where  it 
is  represented  as  declining  fast,  it  has  gained  in  the  last  two  years 
more  than  loo  per  cent  per  annum.  And  for  the  last  three  months 
our  regular  increase  has  been  about  seventy  new  subscribers  per 
month." ' 

The  opposition  to  Mr.  Campbell  did  not  stop  with  the  refutation 
of  his  teaching.  As  in  all  such  controversies,  the  personal  element 
Vv^as  introduced.  His  character  was  called  in  question  and  ugly 
rumors  were  set  afloat  concerning  his  honesty.  Besides  undermining 
his  character  by  calling  him  "  a  Unitarian,"  "  a  Socinian,"  "  an  Anti- 
nomian,"  "  a  Pelagian,"  and  a  Deist,"  in  the  communities  of  that 
period  it  was  little  worse  to  circulate  the  report  that  he  "  stole  a 
horse,"  was  "  excommunicated  for  drunkenness,"  "  married  his  first 
wife's  sister,"  etc.,  etc."  One  man's  indignation  at  his  impiety  for 
daring  to  publish  a  new  translation  of  the  Scriptures  was  so  great 
that  after  reading  Campbell's  Bible,"  as  it  was  called,  he  solemnly 
com.mitted  it  to  the  flames.^ 

Such  was  the  status  of  affairs  between  Mr.  Campbell  and  the  Bap- 
tists about  the  year  1829,  when  he  announced  the  termination  of  The 
Christian  Baptist  with  that  volume.*  In  its  place  he  proposed  to 
publish  a  paper,  just  double  its  size,  to  be  called  The  Millennial 
Harbinger,  devoted  to  the  advocacy  of  the  same  principles.  His 
relations  with  the  Baptists  were  growing  more  strained  and  less 
cordial,  and  he  was  now  fairly  regarded  as  the  leader  of  a  people  or 
party  unmistakably  distinct  from  the  Baptists,  with  its  own  churches, 
associations,  and  publications.  The  possibility  of  any  further  influ- 
ence among  the  Baptists  was  growing  less  and  less,  so  that  there 
was  no  longer  anything  to  be  gained  by  the  longer  retention  of  a 
denominational  name  for  his  paper.^ 

Through  The  Christian  Baptist  Mr.  Campbell  reached  thousands  in 
the  remotest  parts  of  the  United  States  and  the  British  Isles.  There 
was  continually  springing  up  through  correspondence  the  report  of 
men  here  and  there  who  had  become  his  followers;  they  became 

^Christian  Baptist,  V.  iii;  III.  232. 
^Christian  Baptist,  III.  158,  159;  VI.  Appendix. 
^  Christian  Baptist,  IV.  208. 
'Christian  Baptist,  VII.  62. 
^  Christian  Baptist,  V.  199. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  BAPTIST 


new  centers  for  the  further  extension  of  his  influence.  Thus  before 
he  realized  it,  wherever  the  EngUsh  language  was  read  or  spoken, 
there  was  an  innumerable  company  standing  on  his  platform  of 
religious  reformation.  The  seed  had  been  sown  through  the  pages 
of  The  Christian  Baptist,  and  by  the  time  of  its  discontinuance  in 
1830,  within  a  period  of  seven  years,  he  and  his  fellow-reformers 
were  a  power  to  be  reckoned  with  in  the  \\^estern  \\' orld. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  STATUS  OF  CAMPBELL'S  FELLOWSHIP  WITH  THE 

BAPTISTS. 

Alexander  Campbell's  standing  among  Baptists  had  been  in  doubt 
from  the  moment  of  his  union  with  them.  He  made  no  secret  of  his 
disagreement  with  many  Baptist  opinions  and  practices.  He  hoped 
to  be  able,  however,  to  lead  them  as  a  people  upon  "  higher  ground," 
as  he  termed  it.  He  did  not  reckon  sufficiently  with  the  intensity  of 
their  convictions  or  the  firmness  of  their  persuasion  that  they  were 
nearer  right  than  any  other  people. 

There  were  Baptists  who  never  extended  to  him  the  hand  of  fel- 
lowship. They  regarded  him  as  a  religious  innovator  and  adven-  — 
turer,  without  responsibility  or  conscience,  who  had  no  other  purpose 
than  to  build  up  a  new  sect  upon  the  ruins  of  the  Baptist  denomina- 
tion. Charges  of  inconsistency  and  dishonesty  were  freely  lodged 
against  him,  for  occupying  what  was  thought  to  be  an  equivocal 
position,  namely,  maintaining  outward  fellowship  with  a  body  of 
people  with  whom  he  was  not  in  full  agreement.  He  wrote  in  The 
Christian  Baptist,  January  17,  1826,  in  reply  to  a  correspondent: 
"  And,  as  you  know,  I  have  no  faith  in  the  Divine  right  of  associa- 
tions ;  yet  to  shield  me  from  such  far-off  and  underhand  attacks,  as 
well  as  other  important  purposes,  that  I  may  be  under  the  inspection 
and  subject  to  merited  reprehension,  I  and  the  church  with  which  I 
am  connected  are  in  '  full  communion  '  with  the  Mahoning  Baptist 
Association  of  Ohio;  and  through  them  with  the  whole  Baptist 
society  in  the  United  States ;  and  I  do  intend  to  continue  in  connec- 
tion with  this  people  so  long  as  they  will  permit  me  to  say  what  I 
believe,  to  teach  what  I  am  assured  of,  and  to  censure  what  is  amiss 
in  their  views  and  practices.  I  have  no  idea  of  adding  to  the  cata- 
logue of  new  sects.  This  game  has  been  played  too  long.  I  labor* 
to  see  sectarianism  abolished,  and  all  Christians  of  every  name  united 
upon  the  one  foundation  upon  which  the  apostolic  church  was 
founded.  To  bring  Baptists  and  Pedobaptists  to  this  is  my  supreme 
aim.  But  to  connect  myself  with  any  people  who  would  require  me 
to  sacrifice  one  item  of  revealed  truth,  to  subscribe  any  creed  of 
human  device,  or  restrain  me  from  publishing  my  sentiments  as  dis- 

51 


52        CAMPBELL'S  FELLOWSHIP  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS 


cretion  and  conscience  direct,  is  now,  and  I  hope  ever  shall  be,  the 
farthest  from  my  desires,  the  most  incompatible  with  my  views.  And 
I  hope  I  will  not  be  accused  of  sectarian  partiality  when  I  avow  my 
conviction  that  the  Baptist  society  have  as  much  liberality  in  their 
views,  as  much  of  the  ancient  simplicity  of  the  Christian  religion, 
as  much  of  the  spirit  of  Christianity  amongst  them,  as  is  to  be  found 
amongst  any  other  people.  To  say  nothing  of  the  things  in  which  they 
excel,  this  may  be  said  of  them  without  prejudice  to  any.  And  that 
they  have  always  been  as  eminent  friends  of  civil  and  religious  lib- 
erty as  any  sect  in  Christendom,  will  not,  I  presume,  be  denied  by 

any  And  that  there  is  in  the  views  and  practices  of  this 

large  and  widely  extended  community,  as  great  need  of  reformation, 
and  of  a  restoration  of  the  ancient  order  of  things,  few  will  contra- 
dict. In  one  thing,  perhaps,  they  may  appear  in  time  to  come, 
proudly  singular,  and  pre-eminently  distinguished.  Mark  it  well. 
Their  historian  in  the  year  1900  may  say,  '  We  are  the  only  people 
who  would  tolerate,  or  who  ever  did  tolerate,  any  person  to  continue 
as  a  refromer  or  restorer  amongst  us.'  "  ^ 

This  is  an  exceedingly  frank  and  fair  statement  of  his  attitude 
toward  the  Baptists,  and  his  appreciation  of  them.  What  he  acknowl- 
edges was  probably  true,  that  there  was  no  other  denomination  that 
would  have  tolerated  a  reformer  in  the  midst  of  it.  This  was  doubt- 
less due  to  several  conditions.  First  of  all,  the  want  of  a  central 
authority  in  the  Baptist  denomination  prevented  a  concerted  action 
against  him.  Individuals,  churches,  and  associations  had  disavowed 
his  fellowship  and  teachings.  A  General  Assembly,  as  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  could  have  dealt  with  him.  The  Roman  Catholic 
Church  would  have  had  no  difficulty  in  disposing  of  him.  In  the 
second  place,  the  Baptists  themselves  were  divided  with  reference  to 
him.  He  had  many  strong  and  influential  supporters  among  both 
the  ministry  and  laity.  In  the  third  place,  he  was  a  Baptist  in 
the  things  that  were  essential  to  Baptist  fellowship.  The  points  of 
disagreement  between  him  and  the  Baptists  were  in  dispute  among 
Baptists  themselves.  Spencer  Clack,  a  Baptist  editor,  wrote  to  him 
in  1827:  "Observe,  between  you  and  your  Baptist  brethren  there 
is  no  diiference  of  opinion  as  to  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  On  this 
subject  we  all  speak  the  same  language;  we  all  acknowledge  the 
same  authority;  all  profess  to  be  governed  by  it.    What,  then,  is 

^Christian  Baptist,  III.  160. 


CAMPBELL'S  FELLOWSHIP  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS  53 


the  difference  between  us?  Simply  this:  we  can  not  agree  as  to 
what  the  Bible  teaches.  The  Baptists  think  the  Bible  teaches  the 
doctrine  contained  in  their  creeds ;  you  think  it  teaches  what  you  have*^ 
written  and  published,  and  what  you  will  hereafter  write  and  pub- 
lish." '  The  appeal  of  both  parties  to  the  controversy  was  to  the 
Scriptures.  The  difference  was  largely  one  of  interpretation.  So 
it  is  still.  The  difference  otherwise  lay  in  the  degree  of  thorough- 
ness with  which  the  Protestant  principle  of  the  authority  of  Scrip- 
ture was  applied.  The  underlying  presupposition  in  the  mind  of 
Mr.  Campbell  was  that  the  New  Testament  contains  a  perfect  and 
complete  m.odel  of  the  Christian  institution  in  its  faith,  life,  ordi- 
nances, government  and  discipline.  He  took  the  appeal  to  the  precept 
and  precedent  of  Holy  Scripture  with  an  exact  and  faithful  literal- 
ness,  requiring  a  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  "  for  every  item  of  faith  or 
practice  in  the  church.  Nothing  seemed  to  him  to  be  left  to  the 
sanctified  common  sense  of  the  church  in  after  ages  by  Christ  and 
his  apostles.  Nothing  could  be  taken  from  or  added  to  the  things 
once  for  all  delivered  to  the  saints,  without  declaring  in  so  many 
words  that  the  Scriptures  were  insufficient  as  a  rule  of  faith  and 
practice.  It  was  his  conviction  that  every  future  need  and  exigency 
of  the  church  on  earth  had  been  foreseen  and  provided  for  by  Christ 
and  his  apostles. 

When  Robert  Semple,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Campbell  in  1826,  says, 
"  In  short,  your  views  (concerning  creeds,  confessions,  ministerial 
support,  the  Old  Testament,  missionary  and  Bible  societies)  are 
generally  so  contrary  to  those  of  the  Baptists  in  general,  that  if  a 
party  was  to  go  fully  into  the  practice  of  your  principles,  I  should 
say  a  new  sect  had  sprung  up,  radically  different  from  the  Baptists, 
as  they  now  are,"  '  Mr.  Campbell  replied :  ''Would  not  a  congregation 
of  saints,  built  exactly  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  and  walking  in  all  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of 
the  Lord  blamelessly,  appear  like  a  new  sect  arising  amongst  the 
Baptists,  or  any  other  sect  in  this  country  ?  "  "  Are  the  Baptists 
generally  now  following  in  the  steps  of  the  primitive  church  —  are 
they  up  to  the  model  of  the  New  Testamicnt?  Upon  the  answer 
given  to  this  query,  your  last  remark  conveys  praise  or  blame.  If 
they  are  in  the  millennial  state,  or  in  the  primitive  state  of  the  church, 

^  Christian  Baptist,  V.  13. 
^  Christian  Baptist,  III.  200. 


54         CAMPBELL'S  FELLOWSHIP  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS 


then  everything  that  would  change  their  order  and  practice  is  to  be 
reprobated  and  discountenanced  by  every  Christian.  But  if  not, 
every  well  meant  effort  to  bring  them  up  to  that  state,  as  far  as 
Scripture  and  reason  approbate,  ought  to  be  countenanced,  aided 
and  abetted  by  every  one  that  loves  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sin- 
cerity." 

A  correspondent  signing  himself,  "  An  Independent  Baptist," 
replying  to  the  statement  that  he  was  "  in  full  communion  with  the 
Baptist  Church,"  says :  Now,  sir,  I  have  no  doubt  but  you  feel 
honestly  about  this  '  full  communion  with  the  whole  Baptist  society,' 
but  in  fact  and  in  effect,  it  is  a  white  lie ;  an  equivoque,  a  time-serv- 
ing expedient,  and  tends  to  shake  the  confidence  of  those  who  love 
you,  as  to  the  downright  sincerity  of  the  Christian  Baptist."  ^  Refut- 
ing the  insinuation  that  he  was  not  consistent,  Mr.  Campbell  says : 
"  But  what  constitutes  consistency  ?  In  acting  conformably  to  our 
own  professed  sentiments  and  principles;  or  in  acting  conformably 
to  the  professed  sentiments  and  principles  of  others  ?  "  "  To  come 
to  the  point  at  once,  what  are  the  principles  of  union  and  communion 
advocated  in  this  work?  Has  not  the  one  foundation  which  the 
apostles  affirmed  was  already  laid,  and  besides  which  no  other  can 
be  laid  which  will  stand  the  test  of  time  and  critics,  which  is  the 
only  one  on  which  all  Christians  can  unite  and  have  '  full  com- 
munion,' and  against  which  the  gates  of  Hades  shall  not  prevail ;  I 
say,  has  not  this  been  the  only  bond  of  union  which  the  Christian 
Baptist  ever  advocated?  And  what  is  that  but  a  sincere  and  hearty 
conviction,  expressed  or  confessed  by  the  lips,  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ ;  and  this  belief,  exhibited  by  an  overt  act  of  obedience  which 
implies  that  the  subject  has  put  on  the  Christ,  prepares  him,  or 
qualifies  him,  if  you  please,  to  be  saluted  a  brother,  so  long  as  he 
confesses  with  his  lips  that  he  believes  in  his  heart  this  truth  and 
lives  conformably  to  it  and  supports  an  unblemished  moral  charac- 
ter, so  long  he  is  a  worthy  brother." 

He  was  in  this,  of  course,  defining  communion  from  his  own 
point  of  view,  not  that  of  the  Baptists.  On  his  part  he  could  main- 
tain communion  with  the  Baptists  and  yet  differ  in  many  things  from 
them.  His  principle  was,  that  unity  of  opinion  is  not  essential  to 
Christian  union."  ^  From  his  point  of  view,  then,  he  was  in  full  com- 

^  Christian  Baptist,  III.  221,  224;  I.  221. 
'  Christian  Baptist,  III.  226. 


CAMPBELL'S  FELLOWSHIP  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS  55 


munion  with  the  Baptists,  for  they  believed  that Jesus  is  the  Christ  " 
and  Hved  conformably  to  that  profession.  He  seems  to  appreciate 
the  fact  that  fellowship  between  two  parties  depends  upon  the  con- 
sent of  both.  He  says :  Here,  once  for  all,  it  must  be  noted  that 
my  having  communion  with  any  society,  Baptist  or  Pedobaptist, 
depends  just  as  much  upon  them  as  upon  myself.  Some  Baptist 
congregations  would  not  receive  me  into  their  communion,  and  if  any 
Pedobaptist  society  would,  it  is  time  enough  to  show  that  I  am 
inconsistent  with  my  own  principles  when  any  evangelical  sect  or 
congregation  shall  have  welcomed  me  to  their  communion  and  I  have 
refused  it."  He  refused  to  construe  communion  with  a  religious 
body  to  imply,  as  one  of  his  correspondents  insisted,  an  entire 
approbation  of  all  their  views,  doctrine  and  practice,  as  a  society  or 
individuals." 

In  this  discussion  of  the  terms  of  communion  Mr.  Campbell 
raised  a  very  important  but  perplexing  question  —  one  that  is  still 
exercising  the  thought  and  sometimes  disturbing  the  peace  of 
churches  —  How  much  ought  the  church  to  require  in  the  faith  of  a 
person  as  a  condition  of  membership?  Or  rather.  How  little  can  the 
church  accept  as  sufficient  for  Christian  fellowship?  ^Ir.  Campbell's 
answer  was :  The  least  that  a  church  can  require  is  what  the  New  Tes- 
tament reports  Christ  and  the  apostles  to  have  required.  To  require 
more  is  to  make  the  terms  harder  and  to  debar  some.  The  terms  of 
fellowship  insisted  upon  by  some  denominations  presuppose  a  very 
high  degree  of  intellectual  attainment  in  the  person  of  the  convert. 
Other  denominations,  that  make  provision  for  infant  membership, 
presuppose  absolutely  none.  Alexander  Campbell  held  consistently 
to  the  position  of  his  father  as  set  forth  in  the  Declaration  and 
Address :  "  That  although  dectrinal  exhibitions  of  the  great  systems 
of  Divine  truths,  and  defensive  testimonies  in  opposition  to  prevailing 
errors  be  highly  expedient,  and  the  more  full  and  explicit  they  be  for 
these  purposes  the  better :  yet  as  these  must  be  in  a  great  measure 
the  effect  of  human  reasoning,  and  of  course  must  contain  many 
inferential  truths,  they  ought  not  to  be  made  terms  of  Christian  com- 
munion." That  as  it  is  not  necessary  that  persons  should  have  a 
particular  knowledge  or  distinct  apprehension  of  all  divinely  revealed 
truths  in  order  to  entitle  them  to  a  place  in  the  church:  neither 
should  they  for  this  purpose  be  required  to  make  a  profession  more 
extensive  than  their  knowledge ;   but  that  on  the  contrary,  their 


56         CAMPBELL'S  FELLOWSHIP  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS 


having  a  due  measure  of  Scripture  self-knowledge  respecting  their 
lost  and  perishing  condition  by  nature  and  practice,  and  of  the  way 
of  salvation  through  Christ,  accompanied  with  a  profession  of  their 
faith  in  and  obedience  to  him  in  all  things  according  to  his  word  is 
all  that  is  absolutely  necessary  to  qualify  them  for  admission  into 
his  church." 

The  practice  of  the  Baptists  was  uniform  in  requiring  of  the 
candidate  for  admission  to  the  church  a  confession  of  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  repentance  toward  God,  and  immersion  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost.  Besides  these,  they 
required  an  examination  before  a  committee,  the  relation  of  an  expe- 
rience acceptable  to  the  church,  and  in  most  instances  subscription 
to  the  Philadelphia  Confession  or  some  other  formula  of  faith.  The 
thing  to  which  Mr.  Campbell  objected  was  the  requirement  of  things 
not  required  by  the  New  Testament. 

In  connection  with  this  subject  he  was  called  upon  to  express 
his  view  as  to  the  Christian  status  of  those  who  had  not  been 
immersed ;  in  other  words,  of  the  Pedobaptist  communities  of  Chris- 
tians. He  does  not  seem  to  have  shared  the  views  of  the  Baptists  on 
this  subject  at  this  time.  He  did  not  go  with  the  Baptists  in  the 
exclusion  of  the  Pedobaptists  from  the  Lord's  supper.^  Whether  he 
would  have  received  them  into  full  church  fellowship  is  not  clear. 
He  says :  "  I  frankly  own  that  my  full  conviction  is  that  there  are 
many  Pedobaptist  congregations,  of  whose  Christianity  I  think  as 
highly  as  of  most  Baptist  congregations,  and  with  whom  I  could 
wish  to  be  on  the  very  same  terms  of  Christian  communion  on  which 
I  stand  with  the  whole  Baptist  society."  "  I  have  thought  and 
thought  and  vacillated  very  much  on  the  question  w^hether  Baptists 
and  Pedobaptists  ought,  could,  v/ould,  or  should,  irrespective  of  their 
peculiarities,  sit  down  at  the  same  Lord's  table.  And  one  thing  I 
do  know  that  either  they  should  cease  to  have  communion  in  prayer, 
praise,  and  other  religious  observances  or  they  should  go  the  whole 
length.  Of  this  point  I  am  certain.  And  I  do  know  that  as  much 
can  be  said  and  with  as  much  reason  and  scripture  on  its  side  to 
prove  that  immersion  is  as  necessary  prior  to  social  prayer,  praise, 
etc.,  as  it  is  to  eating  the  Lord's  supper."  Dear  sir,  this  plan  of 
making  our  own  nest  and  fluttering  over  our  own  brood ;  of  build- 
ing our  own  tent,  and  of  confining  all  goodness  and  grace  to  our 

^Christian  Baptist,  V.  211. 


CAMPBELL'S  FELLOWSHIP  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS 


57 


noble  selves,  and  the  '  elect  few  '  who  are  like  us,  is  the  quintessence 
of  sublimated  pharisaism."  He  declared  '*  that  all  sectarianism  is 
the  offspring-  of  Hell,"  "  and  that  where  there  is  a  new  creature,  or 
a  society  of  them,  with  all  their  imperfections,  and  frailties  and  errors 
in  sentiments,  in  views  and  opinions,  they  ought  to  receive  one 
another,  and  the  strong  to  support  the  infirmities  of  the  weak  and 
not  to  please  themselves/'  ^  His  critic  replied :  "  Your  very  char- 
itable recognition  of  Pedobaptists,  etc.,  as  brethren  serves  to  neutral- 
ize the  distinction  between  truth  and  error  —  between  allegiance  and 
rebellion.  As  for  the  societies  of  sprinkled  '  new  creatures,'  with 
whom  you  could  wish  (if  they  would  let  you)  to  have  full  com- 
munion, equal  to  what  you  have  with  the  whole  Baptist  society,  they 
resemble  what  a  synagogue  of  the  Jews  would  be  who  rejected  cir- 
cumcision." Mr.  Campbell  replied :  And  here  permit  me  to  remark 
that  you  have  taken  for  granted  what  has  not  been  asserted  yet ;  that 
Baptists  and  Pedobaptists  should,  irrespective  of  their  differences  on 
the  subject  of  baptism,  break  bread  together.  Whether  they  ought, 
or  ought  not,  has  not  been  asserted  by  me.  This  question  is  yet  with 
me  sub  judice."  "  But  there  is  no  rejection  of  the  ordinance  of  bap- 
tism by  sprinkled  creatures;  but  a  mistake  of  what  it  is."  He 
regarded  the  practice  of  sprinkling  as  an  unintentional  mistake, 
which  deserved  pardon,  because  it  was  in  the  way  of  obedience. 

A  little  later,  in  1827,  the  question  of  the  unimmersed  came  up 
again,  through  the  report  in  a  letter  from  a  reforming  church  in 
Edinburgh,  to  the  effect  that  they  received  unimmersed  persons 
into  their  fellowship,  yet  at  the  same  time  practiced  only  immer- 
sion.' Commenting  upon  this  practice,  he  says :  "  On  the  Scripture 
propriety  of  receiving  unnaturalized  or  unimmersed  persons  into 
the  kingdom  into  which  the  Saviour  said  none  can  enter  but  by  being 
born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  little  can  be  said  either  from  precept 
or  examiple.  For  it  is  exceedingly  plain  that  from  the  day  on  which 
Peter  opened  the  reign  of  the  ^vlessiah,  on  the  ever-memorable  Pen- 
tecost, no  m.an  entered  the  realm  but  by  being  bom  of  water."  As 
yet  there  was  no  breach  in  the  walls,  no  scaling  ladders,  no  battering 
rams,  to  find  an  easier  way."  "  But  the  question  of  the  greatest 
difficulty  to  decide  is  whether  there  should  be  any  laws  or  rules, 
adopted  by  the  churches,  relating  to  the  practice  of  receiving  per- 

'  Christian  Baptist,  IIL  228. 
-  Christian  Baptist,  Y.  102. 


5S         CAMPBELL'S  FELLOWSHIP  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS 

sons  unimmersed  in  the  assemblies  of  the  saints.  Whether  on  the 
ground  of  forbearance,  as  it  is  called,  such  persons  as  have  been 
once  sprinkled,  or  not  at  all,  but  who  are  satisfied  with  their  sprink- 
ling, or  without  any,  are,  on  their  solicitation  to  be  received  into 
any  particular  congregation,  and  to  be  treated  in  all  respects  as 
they  who  have,  by  their  own  voluntary  act  and  deed,  been  natural- 
ized and  constitutionally  admitted  into  the  kingdom."  "  To  make  a 
law  that  such  should  be  received,  appears  to  me  after  long  and  close 
deliberation,  a  usurpation  of  the  legislative  authority  vested  in  the 
Holy  Apostles  and  of  dangerous  tendency  in  the  administration  of  the 
reign  of  heaven."  "  Now,  although  I  could  feel  myself  at  perfect 
liberty,  in  full  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  great  King, 
to  receive  into  the  most  cordial  fellowship  every  one  whom  I  have 
reason  to  recognize  as  a  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ,  with  all  his  weak- 
nesses, as  I  would  call  them ;  yet  I  could  not  and  dare  not  say  to 
all  members  of  a  Christian  congregation  that  they  must  do  so  too."  * 
The  question  as  to  whether  the  Baptists  and  Pedobaptists,  irre- 
spective of  their  differences,  should  break  bread  together,  which  he 
declared  to  be  under  consideration  with  him  in  1826,  has  been  grad- 
ually settled  by  1829,  and  he  is  ready  to  affirm :  "I  object  to  making 
it  a  rule,  in  any  case,  to  receive  unimmersed  persons  to  church 
ordinances:  ist.  Because  it  is  nowhere  commanded.  2d.  Because 
it  is  nowhere  precedented  in  the  New  Testament.  3d.  Because  it 
necessarily  corrupts  the  simplicity  and  uniformity  of  the  whole 
genius  of  the  New  Institution.  4th.  Because  it  not  only  deranges 
the  order  of  the  kingdom,  but  makes  void  one  of  the  most  important 
institutions  ever  given  to  man.  It  necessarily  makes  immersion  of 
non-effect.  For  with  what  consistency  or  propriety  can  a  congrega- 
tion hold  up  to  the  world  either  the  authority  or  utility  of  an  institu- 
tion which  they  are  in  the  habit  of  making  as  little  of  as  any  human 
opinion?  5th.  Because,  in  making  a  canon  to  dispense  with  a 
divine  institution  of  momentous  import,  they  who  do  so  assume  the 
very  same  dispensing  powder  which  issued  in  that  tremendous  apos- 
tasy which  we  and  all  Christians  are  praying  and  laboring  to  destroy. 
If  a  Christian  community  put  into  its  magna  charta,  covenant,  or 
constitution  an  assumption  to  dispense  with  an  institution  of  the 
great  King,  who  can  tell  where  this  power  of  granting  license  to 
itself  may  terminate  ?  "  ^ 

^  Christian  Baptist,  V.  276. 
'  Christian  Baptist,  VI.  183. 


CAMPBELL'S  FELLOWSHIP  WITH  THE  BAPTISTS  59 


In  these  words  he  defends  essentially  the  Baptist  position  of 
close  communion.  Up  to  this  time  he  has  vacillated,  as  he  says, 
on  the  question  whether  to  go  the  whole  length  of  admitting  the 
unimmersed  to  all  the  acts  of  social  worship  and  the  privileges  of 
Christian  fellowship  as  consistency  and  Christian  charity  would  dic- 
tate, or  to  enforce  a  strict  conformity  to  the  precepts  and  precedents 
of  the  Xew  Testament/ 

^Christian  Baptist,  III.  286;   Cf.  Williams's  "Life  of  John  Smith,"  445, 

467. 


CHAPTER  Vn. 


THE  SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANXIEXT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 
AMONG  THE  BAPTISTS. 

Froin  the  very  beginning  of  his  advocacy  of  reformation  ]\Ir. 
Campbell's  efforts  were  attended  with  success.  In  the  early  days 
through  his  speaking  and  later  through  the  columns  of  the  Christian 
Baptist  and  the  publication  of  his  debates,  there  Vv-ere  individuals 
here  and  there,  especially  among  the  Baptists,  who  came  over  to 
his  views.  Among  his  converts  were  numbered  many  representative 
men.  One  of  the  first  to  join  the  reformation  "  was  Walter  Scott, 
who  shares  with  the  Campbells  the  credit  for  very  important  reli- 
gious discoveries.'  He  was  a  Scotchman ;  had  been  educated  at 
Edinburgh  University  and  was  brought  up  as  a  Presbyterian ;  came 
to  America  in  1818,  and  settled  at  Pittsburg.  Here  he  came  into 
contact  with  a  fellow-countryman  by  the  name  of  Forrester,  whose 
"  peculiarity  consisted  in  making  the  Bible  his  only  authority  and 
guide  in  matters  of  religion.'*  ^  Under  the  guidance  of  this  man, 
Scott  made  rapid  progress  in  his  study  of  the  Bible  and  soon  came 
to  hold  the  same  views  with  ^Ir.  Forrester.  One  of  his  first  dis- 
coveries was  that  there  was  no  authority  in  Scripture  for  infant 
baptism,  and  that  immersion  vras  the  apostolic  form.  He  was 
accordingly  immersed  by  ^Ir.  Forrester,  who,  aside  from  his  labors 
as  principal  of  an  academy,  had  gathered  together  a  small  body  of 
baptized  believers  in  Pittsburg  and  became  their  minister.  All  these 
changes  in  his  religious  views  had  talcen  place  before  he  m.et  Alex- 
ander Campbell  in  the  winter  of  1822.  Scott  proved  one  of  the  most 
powerful  and  eloquent  advocates  of  the  new  reformation.  He  vras 
by  pre-eminence  the  evangelist  of  the  new  movement. 

In  Ohio  the  very  earliest  converts  to  the  new  idea  from  the  Bap- 
tist ministr}-  were  Adamson  Bentley  and  Sidney  Rigdon.'  Bentley 
was  instrumental  in  the  organization  of  the  Mahoning  Association 
in  1 82 1.  He  first  became  acquainted  vv'ith  the  views  of  'Mr.  Camp- 
bell through  reading  the  debate  with  John  Walker ;  and  later  made 
his  personal  acquaintance  on  a  visit  to  his  home  in  182 1.   He  became 

'  Baxter,  "  Life  of  Walter  Scott,"  30. 
-Baxter,  "Life  of  Walter  Scott,"  57. 
^Hayden,  "  Western  Reserve,"  102;  Memoirs,  II.  43. 

60 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS"  6i 

pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Warren,  Ohio,  in  1811.  Bentley 
continued  to  the  end  of  his  Hfe  a  co-laborer  with  Mr.  Campbell,  and 
gave  his  entire  influence  to  the  extension  of  the  "  ancient  order  of 
things."  Sidney  Rigdon  was  received  into  the  Baptist  Church  at 
Warren  by  Bentley  in  1820,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  the  same  year. 
He  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  native  eloquence,  and  soon  made  his 
name  well  known.  Along  with  Bentley  he  gave  himself  to  the  new 
ideas  until  1830,  when  he  fell  away  to  Mormonism.  By  these  men, 
in  co-operation  with  Walter  Scott,  the  majority  of  the  Baptist 
churches  of  the  Western  Reserve  were  permeated  with  the  new 
teaching.  These  churches  received  the  frequent  personal  ministra- 
tions of  both  Thomas  and  Alexander  Campbell.  Hayden,  in  his 
History  of  the  Disciples  in  the  Western  Reserve,  page  92,  says 
that  an  entire  family  of  brothers,  three  in  number,  by  the  name  of 
Rigdon,  adopted  the  views  of  Mr.  Campbell  and  faithfully  defended 
them  on  the  Reserve.  Jacob  Osborne  became  a  Baptist  preacher 
and  entered  the  seminary  of  Mr.  Campbell."  Marcus  Bosworth,  a 
Baptist  preacher,  was  greatly  influenced  and  helped  on  his  way  to 
the  position  of  Mr.  Campbell  by  Osborne.''  Other  preachers  of  influ- 
ence among  the  Baptists  who  were  carried  over  were  William  Hay- 
den, John  Applegate,  O.  Newcomb,  and  William  Moody.'  One  thou- 
sand persons  were  reported  as  converted  by  these  preachers  on  the 
Reserve  in  the  year  1829-30. 

In  Kentucky  one  of  the  first  Baptist  ministers  to  be  won  to 
the  position  of  Mr.  Campbell  was  P.  S.  Fall.*  The  Sermon  on  the 
Law  fell  into  his  hands  in  1822,  w^hile  he  was  pastor  of  a  Baptist 
church  in  Louisville.  He  went  from  there  to  Frankfort,  and  spent 
the  last  years  of  his  active  service  in  Nashville,  Tenn.  John  Smith 
(''Raccoon,"  as  he  was  called),  was  another  Baptist  preacher  of 
Kentucky  who  adopted  the  views  of  Mr.  Campbell  in  the  early 
period.^  He  had  been  brought  up  according  to  the  strict  Baptist 
Calvinism  of  the  South.  He  was  not  entirely  satisfied  with  it,  and 
had  gradually  been  working  his  way  into  opposition  to  it,  when  in 
1823-4  The  Christian  Baptist  fell  into  his  hands.  On  Mr.  Campbell's 
visit  to  Kentucky  in  1824  Smith  went  to  hear  him  at  Flemingsburg. 

^  Hayden,  140. 

^  Hayden,  136. 

^  Hayden,  177,  276,  366,  430. 

*  Memoirs,  II.  94,  95, 122. 

^  Memoirs,  II.  107. 


62 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 


He  was  in  a  state  of  uncertainty  as  to  what  to  think  of  Mr.  Camp- 
bell. Some  of  his  Baptist  friends  favored  him,  others  opposed  him. 
In  this  state  of  suspense  he  went  to  hear  him.  He  relates  the  inci- 
dent later  in  life.  On  coming  into  town  he  met  William  ^"aughan,who 
knew  and  was  favorably  disposed  toward  the  views  of  Campbell. 
"  Well,"  said  I  to  Elder  Vaughan,  what  are  his  views  on  doctrinal 
points  ?  Is  he  a  Calvinist  or  Armenian,  an  Arian  or  Trinitarian  ?  ' 
His  answer  was :  '  I  do  not  know ;  he  has  nothing  to  do  with  any 
of  these  things.'  I  asked  again,  '  But  do  you  think  he  knows  any- 
thing about  heartfelt  religion  ?  '  '  God  bless  you,  Brother  John,' 
said  he,  '  he  is  one  of  the  most  pious  godly  men  I  was  ever  in  com- 
pany with  in  my  life.'  '  But  do  you  think  he  knows  anything  about  a 
Christian  experience  ?  '  '  W^hy,  Lord  bless  you !  he  knows  every- 
thing. Come,  I  want  to  introduce  you  to  him.'  "  After  the  sermon 
he  said  to  Campbell,  "  Religiously  speaking,  I  am  suspicious  of  you, 
and  having  an  unfavorable  opinion  of  you,  I  am  willing  to  give  the 
reasons  why."  Smith  accompanied  Campbell  to  his  next  appoint- 
ment and  asked  him  to  relate  his  experience.  After  hearing  his 
experience,"  said  Smith,  I  would  cheerfully  have  given  him  the 
hand  of  fellowship."  It  was  not  until  a  year  of  careful  study  of  the 
Scriptures  after  this  incident  that  he  began  the  advocacy  of  the 
"  Bible  as  a  sufficient  rule  of  faith  and  practice."  He  became  very 
active  in  the  work  of  a  general  evangelist,  going  from  place  to  place 
baptizing  scores  of  people  "  into  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
for  the  remission  of  sins."  Jeremiah  V^ardeman,  the  most  popular 
Baptist  preacher  in  Kentucky,  who  had  been  one  of  the  moderators 
of  the  INIaccalla  debate,  and  had  been  an  outspoken  friend  of  Camp- 
bell from  the  beginning,  gave  his  influence  to  the  new  ideas  for  sev- 
eral years.  He  drew  back,  however,  when  he  saw  the  beginning  of 
divisions  in  churches  and  associations.^  Other  Baptist  preachers  of 
Kentucky  who  were  profoundly  and  permanently  influenced  by 
Campbell  were  Jacob  Creath,  Sr.,  Jacob  Creath,  Jr.,  and  James 
Challen,  all  of  whom  gave  themselves  to  the  promotion  of  "  the 
ancient  order  of  things."  Both  of  the  Creaths  and  John  Smith 
were  excluded  from  the  Elkhorn  Association,  together  with  several 
congregations  in  1830,  for  "  apostasy  to  Campbellism." ' 

John  T.  Johnson  was  a  lawyer  living  at  Georgetown,  Kentucky. 
He  became  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  182 1.  He  says  :  "  Dur- 

^  Christian  Baptist,  VI.  47 ;  Memoirs,  II,  72. 
^Memoirs,  II.  324;  II.  119. 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS"  63 


ing  the  years  1829-30  the  public  mind  was  much  excited  in  regard 
to  what  was  vulgarly  called  '  Campbellism/  and  I  resolved  to  exam- 
ine it  in  the  light  of  the  Bible.  I  was  won  over;  my  eyes  were 
opened,  and  the  debt  of  gratitude  I  owe  to  that  man  of  God,  Alex- 
ander Campbell,  no  language  can  tell."  He  gave  up  his  law  practice 
in  order  to  devote  himself  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel.  He  became 
a  man  of  great  influence.' 

In  Virginia  no  preachers  of  note  were  won  to  the  "  reformation," 
but  many  people,  sometimes  including  entire  churches,  changed  their 
customs  to  harmonize  with  what  they  were  led  to  believe  a  more 
scriptural  practice.  Preachers  of  lesser  influence  in  Virginia  and 
in  many  other  states  adopted  the  principles  of  Campbell.^  A  corre- 
spondent writing  to  Campbell  in  1827-28,  says:  "  One  of  your  most 
bigoted  opposers  said  not  long  since  in  a  public  assembly  that  in 
traveling  2,500  miles  circuitously,  he  found  only  four  Regular  Bap- 
tist preachers  whom  you  had  not  corrupted."  Such  a  statement  may 
mean  much  or  little,  depending  upon  the  number  of  Baptist  preachers 
he  saw  during  those  journeys.  It  is  a  highly  striking  way  of  saying 
that  "  Campbellism  "  was  making  serious  inroads  upon  the  Baptist 
ministry,  sufficient  indeed  to  be  the  cause  of  alarm.  Robert  Semple, 
writing  to  Dr.  Noel  in  September,  1827,  says :  I  know  but  one 
preacher  in  Virginia  who  has  pinned  his  faith  to  Campbell's  sleeve, 
and  he  has  become  verv^  troublesome  to  us." '  This  can  scarcely  be 
taken  as  a  correct  or  fair  statement  of  the  case,  for  it  is  not  sufficient 
to  account  for  the  feeling  of  alarm  and  hostility  displayed  in  the 
very  letter  itself.  If  but  one  preacher  had  been  "  tainted  "  no  notice 
would  have  been  taken  of  it.  The  truth  lies  somewhere  between 
these  two  extreme  statements. 

In  the  meantime,  of  course,  many  individuals  among  the  laity 
were  coming  under  the  influence  of  Mr.  Campbell's  teaching.  From 
individuals  it  was  not  long  in  extending  to  entire  congregations  of 
Baptists.  The  first  entire  church  to  adopt  the  teaching  and  embody 
the  "  ancient  order  of  things  "  in  its  faith  and  practice  was  the 
Brush  Run  church,  which  was  made  up  of  members  of  the  various 
denominations,  and  was  brought  over  into  fellowship  with  Baptist 
churches  at  the  time  of  the  union.  The  second  church  constituted  on 
the  new  order  under  Mr.  Campbell's  influence  was  at  Wellsburg  and 

^Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  179;  Rogers,  "Biography  of  J.  T.  Johnson." 
^  Christian  Baptist,  V.  94. 
^  Christian  Baptist,  V.  244. 


64         SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 

the  third  at  Pittsburg.'  None  of  these  churches  were  previously 
Baptist,  though  Baptists  were  found  in  them.  The  church  at  Wells- 
burg  had  been  formed  by  the  removal  thither  of  Mr.  Campbell's 
father-in-law.  Most  of  the  members  forming  that  church  came  out 
of  the  Brush  Run  church.'  The  church  at  Pittsburg  arose  out  of  a 
union,  in  1824,  of  Mr.  Forrester's  congregation  in  charge  of  Walter 
Scott,  and  the  Baptist  church  presided  over  by  Sidney  Rigdon.  It 
was  different,  however,  with  the  church  at  Louisville  ministered  to 
by  P.  S.  Fall.  This  church  was  more  purely  Baptist.  The  tran- 
sition in  these  churches  was  usually  marked  by  the  formal  adoption  of 
the  Bible  as  a  sufficient  rule  of  faith  and  practice;  the  discarding 
of  the  local  creed  and  constitution  of  the  church;  the  weekly  com- 
munion of  the  Lord's  supper;  the  baptism  of  a  person  upon  the 
confession  of  his  faith  in  Christ,  without  an  examination  by  the  elders 
or  a  vote  of  either  the  officers  or  the  congregation.  This  is  clear  from 
the  circular  letter  sent  up  to  the  Long  Run  Association  of  Kentucky 
by  the  Louisville  church  written  by  its  pastor,  P.  S.  Fall,  September, 
1825.  This  letter  was  rejected  by  the  Association,  the  moderator 
casting  the  decisive  vote.  The  letter  reads  in  part  as  follows :  "  It 
is  not  unfrequently  said  by  word  of  mouth,  as  well  as  in  creeds,  that 
the  word  of  God  is  the  only  and  the  sufficient  and  perfect  rule  of  faith 
and  practice.  While  this  is  admitted  in  word  by  all  religious  denomi- 
nations, it  is  to  be  feared  that  but  few  feel  the  force  or  understand 
the  import  of  their  own  declaration.  Let  them  but  critically  examine 
every  part  of  this  sentence,  and,  while  it  appears  in  direct  accordance 
with  the  word  itself,  it  is  in  complete  violation  of  the  practice  of 
almost  all ;  for  if  the  declaration  be  true  that  the  word  of  God  is  the 
only,  sufficient  and  perfect  rule  in  all  things  pertaining  to  belief  or 
conduct,  why  are  creeds,  confessions  and  human  formulas  of  doc- 
trine, practice,  government  and  experience  established  as  the  exclu- 
sive tests  of  all,  to  the  manifest  deterioration  of  the  Bible,  while 
churches  rest  contented  with  the  bare  declaration  of  its  suf- 
ficiency." ' 

The  church  at  Elk  Creek  sent  up  a  query  as  to  the  New  Testament 
authority  for  creeds  and  associations,  showing  that  the  leaven  of  the 
new  teaching  was  v/orking  there.  The  same  Association  entertained 
a  similar  query  from  the  church  at  Shelbyville.    As  showing  the 

^  Memoirs,  II.  125. 

'Memoirs,  I.  459. 

^  Christian  Baptist,  III.  151,  232. 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS"  65 


widespread  workings  of  the  new  ideas  among  the  Baptists  of  Ken- 
tucky as  early  as  1824,  at  a  meeting  of  the  "  Baptist  ^Hssionary 
Association  of  Kentucky,"  it  was  proposed  to  have  a  meeting  of  all 
the  Baptist  preachers  who  can  attend  for  the  purpose  of  a  general 
conference  on  the  state  of  religion  and  on  the  subject  of  reform.  All 
the  ministers  of  the  gospel  in  the  Baptist  denomination  favorable 
to  these  objects  are  invited  to  attend,  and,  in  the  spirit  of  Christian 
love,  by  mutual  counsel,  influence  and  exertion  according  to  the 
gospel,  to  aid  in  advancing  the  cause  of  piety  in  our  state."  Em- 
bodied as  a  part  of  the  call  was  the  declaration :  "  It  is  obvious  to 
the  most  superficial  observer,  who  is  at  all  acquainted  with  the  state 
of  Christianity  and  of  the  church  of  the  New  Testament,  that  much, 
very  much,  is  wanting,  to  bring  the  Christianity  of  the  church  of  the 
present  day  up  to  that  standard."  ^ 

Throughout  Kentucky  such  men  as  Vardeman,  William  Morton, 
John  Smith,  John  Secrest  and  W.  Warder  went  about  baptizing  per- 
sons after  the  new  order  of  things.  The  following  extracts  are  from 
the  correspondence  published  in  The  Christian  Baptist.'  *'  Bishop 
Jeremiah  Vardeman,  of  Kentucky,  since  the  first  of  November  last, 
till  the  first  of  May  (1827-28),  immersed  about  550  persons." 

Bishop  John  Smith,  of  Montgomery,  Kentucky,  from  the  first 
Lord's  Day  in  February  to  the  20th  of  April  immersed  339."  "Bishops 
Scott,  Rigdon  and  Bentley,  in  Ohio,  within  the  last  six  months 
have  immersed  about  800  persons."  "  Within  a  few  months  about 
3CMD  have  been  immersed  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Spirit,  on  a  profession  of  their  faith  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah,  the 
Son  of  God.  Great  additions  have  been  also  made  to  other  congre- 
gations in  the  same  vicinity,"  "  From  the  2d  of  ^larch  to  the  22d 
of  June,  a  period  of  three  months,  Bishop  John  Secrest  immersed 
222  persons,  about  an  equal  number  of  males  and  females."  "  A 
correspondent  in  Lincoln  County,  Kentucky,  informs  me  in  a  letter 
dated  the  8th  ult.  (Oct.,  1828)  that  between  300  and  400  persons 
had  been  immersed  in  that  and  the  adjoining  counties  within  a  few 
months  before  that  time  under  the  labors  of  Brethren  Poison,  Ander- 
son, Sterman  and  others.  Another  informs  me  that  Bishop  G.  G. 
Boon  since  last  fall  immersed  about  350,  and  Bishop  William  Morton 
300  at  least.  Bishop  Jacob  Creath  has  immersed  a  great  many." 
"  Bishop  John  Smith,  of  ^lontgomery  County,  Kentucky,  has  im- 

'  Christian  Baptist,  XL  152;   III.  154. 
^  Christian  Baptist,  V.  47 ;  V.  263. 


66 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 


mersed  since  the  20th  of  April  till  the  third  Lord's  Day  in  July,  294 
persons.  Thus  in  a  little  more  than  five  months  Brother  Smith  has 
immersed  603  persons  '  into  the  Lord  Jesus  for  the  remission  of 
sins.'  " ' 

It  was  the  baptism  of  a  person  for  the  remission  of  sins  "  that 
distinguished  the  baptisms  of  these  reforming  preachers  from  ordi- 
nary Baptist  baptisms.  All  of  these  men  were  still  members  of  the 
Baptist  church,  and  the  persons  immersed  by  them  took  membership 
in  Baptist  churches.  They  were  a  little  company  within  the  Baptist 
society,  growing  ever  more  numerous  and  distinct  until  the  period 
of  separation.'  At  the  close  of  The  Christian  Baptist  of  1825,  Camp- 
bell observes :  "  Several  Baptist  congregations  in  the  western  part 
of  Pennsylvania  and  in  the  state  of  Ohio  have  voted  the  '  Philadelphia 
Confession  '  of  faith  out  of  doors  "  " —  unmistakable  evidence  of  the 
influence  of  the  new  ideas.  The  Baptist  church  of  Nelson,  Ohio, 
at  a  meeting  held  August  24,  1824,  voted  "  to  remove  the  Philadelphia 
Confession  of  faith  and  the  church  articles  and  to  take  the  word  of 
God  for  our  rule  of  faith  and  practice."  "*  This  action  led  to  a 
division  of  the  church.  The  reforming  portion  of  the  church  did  not 
form  a  new  organization  until  January  27,  1827,  consisting  of  nine 
members. 

Walter  Scott  was  appointed  a  general  evangelist  by  the  Mahoning 
Association  at  its  meeting  at  New  Lisbon  in  1827,  to  go  among  the 
Baptist  churches  holding  meetings,  and  to  establish  new  churches. 
Scott  went  everywhere  among  the  churches  on  the  Western  Reserve 
teaching  them  his  new  ideas.  He  began  his  evangelistic  ministry  at 
New  Lisbon  in  the  Baptist  meeting-house.  Seventeen  persons  were 
baptized.  Subsequently  he  visited  the  churches  at  Warren  and  Aus- 
tintown,  and  completely  transformed  them  into  "  reforming 
churches."  Through  his  influence  and  that  of  other  preachers  the 
Baptist  churches  at  Salem,  Canfield,  Newton  Falls,  Braceville,  Wind- 
ham, Hubbard,  Bazetta,  Randolph,  Birmingham  and  Southington 
were  won  over  to  "  the  ancient  order  of  things  "  between  the  years 
1827-1830.  Besides  these  there  were  other  churches  of  less  impor- 
tance influenced  and  many  new  churches  established.  The  proceed- 
ings of  the  church  at  Salem  is  characteristic  of  many  more.  Scott 

^Christian  Baptist,  VI.  47;  Life  of  Smith,  250;  Christian  Baptist,  V.  208. 

'  Life  of  J.  Smith,  216. 

'  Christian  Baptist,  II.  288. 

*Hayden,  22,  237. 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS"  67 

began  work  there  in  April,  1828.  "  In  ten  days  he  baptized  forty 
souls."  The  leading  Baptists  were  delighted."  "  The  converts 
were  received  to  baptism  on  the  confession  of  their  faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  without  the  usual  routine  of  telling  an  experience  and 
a  vote  of  the  church."  So  successful  did  his  work  seem  to  him  that 
he  exclaimed :  Who  will  now  say  there  is  a  Baptist  church  in 
Salem  ?  "  This  gave  the  alarm.  Some  of  the  old  leaders  thought 
he  was  building  up  the  Baptist  church,"  until  this  announcement  was 
made.  A  reaction  set  in;  a  meeting  was  called  and  all  those  who 
had  been  received  into  the  church  without  relating  an  experience 
were  summoned  to  appear  to  be  received  in  the  regular  Baptist  way. 
They  refused  to  come  and  scattered  among  the  various  churches  of 
the  region.  Out  of  this  grew  a  church  of  Reformers  three  miles 
south  of  Salem.^ 

The  Baptist  church  at  Windham  was  constituted  a  church  of 
Christ "  by  Thomas  Campbell  and  Marcus  Bosworth  May  27,  1828, 
with  the  usual  rejection  of  creeds  and  confessions  and  an  appeal  to 
the  "  New  Testament  as  a  perfect  rule,  directory  and  formula  for  the 
faith,  discipline  and  government  of  the  church."  This  church  did 
not  begin  the  weekly  breaking  of  bread  until  March  22,  1829,  nearly 
a  year  later.  The  "  old  order  "  was  but  slowly  supplanted  by  the 
new.  A  wise  forbearance  ruled  the  church,  and  they  eventually 
all  came  to  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  apostolic  order." 
Concerning  the  progress  of  the  new  views,  William  Hayden  wrote  to 
Mr.  Campbell,  May,  1830:  "The  word  of  God  has  great  success 
with  us.  The  churches  are  growing  in  knowledge,  spirituality  and 
numbers.  New  churches  are  rising  up  in  very  many  towns  on  the 
Reserve,  where  we  are  laboring." 

The  period  of  greatest  defection  from  Baptist  churches  to  the 
ranks  of  the  Reformers  was  from  1825-1830.  During  this  period  the 
preachers  of  the  ancient  order  were  easily  introduced  into  Baptist 
churches  without  any  suspicion  of  their  hostility  to  Baptist  usages. 
After  1830  they  were  better  known  and  were  marked  for  avoidance 
by  Baptists  generally.  In  many  out-of-the-way  places  even  later 
these  preachers  obtained  entrance  into  Baptist  churches. 

The  regions  chiefly  touched  by  the  teaching  of  Mr.  Campbell 
were  Kentucky,  western  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Tennessee  and  Vir- 
ginia.^   There  is  record  of  churches  adopting  his  views  as  early  as 

'  Hayden,  73,  100,  127,  etc. ;  Christian  Baptist,  V.  275 ;  VII.  272. 
'Memoirs,  II.  168. 


68         SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 

this  in  Indiana,  Hlinois  and  Missouri ;  indeed  in  all  the  states  adjacent 
to  the  regions  of  the  first  successes  of  the  movement.^  Benedict,  the 
Baptist  historian,  says  (page  8oi),  concerning  the  First  Baptist 
church  of  Nashville :  "  It  increased  to  between  three  and  four  hun- 
dred members,  when  the  Campbellites  or  Reformers  succeeded  in 
making  proselytes  to  their  views  of  nearly  the  whole  of  this  great 
and  growing  interest.  The  pastor  and  people,  with  their  chapel,  of 
course,  all  were  brought  under  the  influence  of  the  Reformers." 

It  ought  to  be  observed  that  accessions  to  the  ranks  of  the  Re- 
formers did  not  take  place  alone  from  the  Baptists  during  this 
period.  All  the  denominations  contributed  to  the  swelling  of  their 
ranks.  A  Methodist,  Universalist,  and  Presbyterian,  not  to  omit  an 
instance  of  one  Episcopal  rector  and  one  Lutheran  preacher,  joined 
their  ranks." '  The  entire  Methodist  church  at  Deerfield,  Ohio, 
adopted  the  "  ancient  order  of  things."  *  It  would  be  natural  to  look 
for  some  coalescence  between  the  "  Reformers  "  and  the  "  Chris- 
tians," or  "  Stoneites,"  or  "  New  Lights,"  as  they  were  called,  on 
account  of  the  similarity  of  their  teaching.  This  was  true  in  Ohio 
and  Kentucky.  Some  of  the  most  useful  men  in  the  proclamation  of 
the  new  order  of  things  came  from  these  followers  of  B.  W.  Stone. 
In  Ohio  Joseph  Gaston,  John  Whitacre  and  other  able  men,  together 
with  several  churches,  came  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Reformers. 
In  Kentucky  a  general  union  was  consummated  between  the  Reform- 
ers and  the  Stoneites  in  1832.  The  most  active  leaders  in  this  union 
were  John  Smith,  on  the  part  of  the  Reformers,  and  Samuel  Rogers, 
on  the  part  of  the  Stoneites.  These  men  went  everywhere  through 
Kentucky  for  more  than  two  years  bringing  the  two  parties  to- 
gether.' 

The  influence  and  ideas  of  the  Reformers  permeated  entire  asso- 
ciations. The  first  Baptist  association  to  be  controlled  by  the  Reform- 
ers was  the  Mahoning  of  Ohio.  Mr.  Campbell  became  a  member  of 
it  in  1823,  but  for  two  years  before  he  was  a  regular  visitor  at  its 
meetings.  This  Association  met  with  the  Reformers'  church  at 
Sharon,  August,  1829,  just  after  a  division  in  the  Baptist  church. 
A  list  of  the  sixteen  churches  composing  the  Association  indicates 

'Christian  Baptist,  HI.  44;  V.  44;  VII.  245. 
^Memoirs,  II.  142;  Christian  Baptist,  IV.  217;  V.  210. 
'Christian  Baptist,  V.  284;  Hayden,  149,  150,  324,  355. 
*Hayden,  311. 

^Hayden,  51,  59,  79.  112,  125,  300. 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS"  69 


that  the  Baptist  element  had  been  completely  lost  by  1827.  This 
Association  was  dissolved  in  1830  without  a  dissenting  vote,  as  far  as 
its  Baptist  form  was  concerned/  Along  with  the  ^lahoning  and  al- 
most as  early  to  abandon  its  creed  and  constitution,  was  the  Stillwater 
Association  of  Ohio.  Its  messenger  to  the  Redstone  Association 
was  refused  a  seat  on  account  of  the  suspicion  of  "  Campbellite 
heresy." " 

The  year  1828  was  a  notable  one  among  Kentucky  Baptist  asso- 
ciations. At  the  meetings  of  three  of  the  largest  associations  the 
Reformers  were  in  control,  due  in  a  very  large  degree  to  the  preach- 
ing and  influence  of  John  Smith.  During  the  year  1827-28  he  had 
baptized  many  people  after  the  "  ancient  practice."  The  churches 
for  which  he  preached  regularly,  Spencer's  Creek,  Grassy  Lick,  and 
Mt.  Sterling,  reported  in  their  annual  letters  of  1828  to  the  North 
District  Association  of  which  they  were  members,  the  baptism  of  392 
persons  during  the  year.  The  t^venty-four  churches  of  the  Associa- 
tion reported  the  baptism  of  nearly  900  persons,  "  the  greater  part 
of  whom  had  been  immersed  by  Smith."  Five  new  churches  had 
been  constituted  by  Smith  on  the  Bible  alone  and  became  members 
of  the  Association.^ 

The  "  North  District  Association  "  met  in  July,  1828.  At  its 
meeting  the  previous  year  the  Lulbegrud  church  had  sent  up  the  fol- 
lowing charges  aimed  at  John  Smith,  but  veiling  the  object  of  their 
charge  under  the  designation,  one  of  their  preachers."  The  accu- 
sations were: 

"i.  That,  while  it  is  the  custom  of  Baptists  to  use  as  the  word  of 
God  King  James  translation,  he  had  on  two  or  three  occasions  in  pub- 
lic, and  often  privately  in  his  family,  read  from  Alexander  Camp- 
bell's translation." 

"2.  That,  while  it  is  the  custom  in  the  ceremony  of  baptism  to 
pronounce,  '  I  baptize  you,'  he  on  the  contrary  is  in  the  habit  of  say- 
ing, '  I  immerse  you.'  "  ' 

''3.  That,  in  administering  the  Lord's  Supper,  while  it  is  the  cus- 
tom to  break  the  loaf  into  bits,  small  enough  to  be  readily  taken  into 
the  mouth,  yet  he  leaves  the  bread  in  large  pieces,  teaching  that  each 
communicant  should  break  it  for  himself." 

^  Hayden,  56,  270,  295. 
^  Memoirs,  11.  140. 
^Life  of  J.  Smith,  250. 
*Life  of  Smith,  183. 


70         SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 


Without  waiting  for  himself  to  be  singled  out,  he  arose  and  said : 
"  I  plead  guilty  to  them  all."  After  bitter  debating  and  wrangling 
over  the  charges  it  was  finally  voted  that  they  be  laid  over  for  another 
year.  The  meeting  of  1828  was  the  time  when  these  charges  should 
be  brought  up.  Smith  had  been  unwearied  in  his  preaching,  and 
marvelously  successful  in  winning  men  to  the  gospel  during  the 
year.  Still,  when  the  Association  met,  he  was  in  doubt  at  first  as  to 
which  side  had  the  majority  of  messengers.  In  the  registration  of 
delegates,  it  was  soon  found  that  the  majority  were  favorable  to  him. 
The  messengers  from  the  five  new  churches  he  had  established  turned 
the  scale  in  his  favor.  The  charges  were  not  mentioned  on  the  floor 
of  the  Association.^  This  Association  divided  in  1830,  ten  churches 
voluntarily  withdrawing  and  forming  a  new  association  on  Baptist 
principles.  The  North  District  Association  met  for  the  last  time  as 
an  advisory  council  in  1831,  and  was  dissolved  one  year  later  as  the 
Mahoning  had  been.^  There  was  a  disposition  to  dissolve  in  1830,  but 
the  people  thought  it  a  little  hasty,  and  that  it  might  give  the  appear- 
ance of  revolution.  Fourteen  churches  and  four  parts  of  churches 
were  enrolled  on  the  occasion  of  the  dissolution.  On  the  same  day  the 
churches  that  had  withdrawn  from  the  Association  two  years  before 
met  and  formed  a  new  association  under  the  same  name. 

The  "  Bracken  Association  "  was  the  next  to  meet  in  1828.  Lick- 
ing Association,  rigidly  Calvinistic  and  devoted  to  the  Philadelphia 
Confession,  desired  to  enter  into  mutual  correspondence  with 
Bracken,  but  had  determined  as  a  condition  of  it  to  require  from 
Bracken  "  a  pledge  to  support  the  Philadelphia  Confession." " 
Smith's  activities  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  had  extended  to  the 
churches  of  this  Association.  The  letter  came  from  Licking  requiring 
the  pledge  and  was  read  before  the  Association.  After  a  prolonged 
discussion  by  various  members,  during  which  Smith  had  sat 
in  silence,  he  finally  saw  his  opportunity  to  speak.  He  spoke  the 
next  day,  Sunday,  to  the  entire  Association.  When  the  matter  came 
up  on  Monday  for  final  disposition,  the  Association  resolved  to 
recommend  no  creed  but  the  New  Testament.  A  witness  of  these 
events  said :  "  It  was  John  Smith  that  gave  impulse  and  tone  to  the 
Reformation  of  Bracken  as  he  had  already  done  in  North  District, 
Boones'  Creek,  and  other  associations."    Bracken  did  not  remain 

^Life  of  Smith,  340-343. 
^  Life  of  Smith,  362,  415-417. 
^Life  of  Smith,  259. 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS"  7^ 


long  under  the  influence  of  the  Reformers,  but  went  back  into  Regu- 
lar Baptist  fellowship  in  1830;  yet  not  without  loss  by  defection  to 
the  side  of  the  reformation/  Benedict  assures  us  in  his  History  of 
the  Baptists  (819)  that  the  number  of  members  was  reduced  from 
2,200  to  900  on  account  of  the  sweeping  inroad  "  of  the  Reformers. 
"  During  the  storm,  a  few  went  over  to  the  Licking  Association, 
others  stood  aloof  for  years  and  then  returned ;  yet  it  is  evident  that  a 
large  majority  embraced  the  Reformation.  This  should  not  have 
been  so  ;  neither  would  it  ever  have  occurred  (in  my  opinion)  had 
we  not  in  all  our  movements  acted  very  impolitic.  Many  of  our 
churches,  instead  of  remaining  firm  on  the  Bible,  and  the  Bible  alone, 
the  great  platform  on  which  we  have  ever  stood^  became  frightened 
and  brought  forth  from  secrecy  and  silence  old  musty  creeds,  con- 
fessions of  faith,  etc.,  which  really  drove  many  from  our  ranks." 

The  next  association  to  take  action,  the  same  year,  1828,  was 
the  Boones'  Creek.  The  letter  sent  out  by  the  Association  in  1827 
observed  to  the  churches  composing  it :  We  hear  from  some  of  the 
churches  that  they  are  endeavoring  to  return  to  the  ancient  order  of 
things,  and  they  recognize  the  Scriptures  alone  as  an  entire  and 
sufficient  rule  of  faith  and  practice."  ^  "  During  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer of  1828,  there  had  been  an  increase  of  about  870  members  by 
immersion,  many  of  whom  had  been  brought  in  through  the  preach- 
ing of  John  Smith."  The  Association,  composed  of  thirteen  churches, 
met  on  the  third  Saturday  in  September.  The  question  before  it,  raised 
in  the  letters  of  two  churches,  was  concerning  an  amendment  to  the 
constitution  to  bring  it  into  harmony  with  the  word  of  God.  The 
following  action  was  taken  by  the  Association  and  reported  back  to  all 
the  churches :  "  We  therefore  recommend  to  the  churches  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  present  constitution,  and  in  lieu  thereof,  the  adoption  of 
the  following  resolution :  Resolved,  that  we,  the  churches  of  Jesus 
Christ,  believing  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  to  be 
the  word  of  God,  and  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  obedience  given 
by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  for  its  government,  do  agree  to 
meet  annually  —  for  the  worship  of  God  —  and  on  such  occasions 
voluntarily  communicate  the  state  of  religion  amongst  us  by  letter 
and  messenger." '  Such  men  as  John  Smith,  William  Morton,  Jere- 
miah Vardeman  and  Jacob  Creath,  all  under  the  influence  of  the 


^Life  of  Smith,  386;  Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  477. 
^Life  of  Smith,  265. 

^Life  of  Smith,  266;  Christian  Baptist,  VI.  119. 


72         SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 

reformatory  ideas,  were  the  leading  spirits  in  this  meeting.  The 
report  of  the  action  of  churches  with  reference  to  the  resolution  was 
made  a  year  later.  The  result  showed  that  seven  churches  voted  to 
retain  the  constitution,  six  voted  to  abolish  it.  At  the  meeting  in 
1830  these  six  churches  were  dropped  from  the  Association,  and 
both  North  District  and  Tate's  Creek  messengers  were  rejected."^ 

In  1829  Tate's  Creek  Association  was  under  the  controling  influ- 
ence of  the  Reformers.  A  minority  of  orthodox  Baptist  churches 
withdrew  and  called  a  meeting  for  the  month  of  June,  1830,  at 
which  they  drew  up  a  bill  of  errors  against  certain  preachers  and 
churches  of  the  Association.  This  Association  was  composed  of 
delegates  from  ten  of  the  twenty-six  churches.  They  organized 
and  proceeded  to  meet  at  the  "  Tate's  Creek  Association,"  and  re- 
solved to  cut  oflf  correspondence  with  the  churches  that  tolerated 
the  heresy  of  Campbellism.  The  majority  of  this  Association  was 
thus  committed  to  the  teaching  of  Alexander  Campbell.'' 

The  Franklin  and  Elkhorn  Associations  were^  however,  not 
friendly  to  the  Reformers,  though  there  was  a  strong  and  influential 
minority  disposed  to  sanction  reformation  on  the  new  principles. 
In  1829  Franklin  Association  adopted  the  decrees  of  the  Beaver 
Association  of  Pennsylvania,  which  had  rejected  as  heretical  the 
Mahoning  Association  of  Ohio,  and  refused  to  have  any  fellowship 
with  it.  The  churches  of  the  Association  were  warned  not  to  har- 
bor any  such  errors.  The  Elkhorn  Association  at  its  meeting  in 
1830,  dropped  from  further  correspondence  two  churches,  and  re- 
fused to  recognize  the  messenger  from  the  North  District.  This 
meant  the  exclusion  from  Baptist  fellowship  of  eighteen  churches 
and  1,470  members.' 

The  Russell  Creek  and  South  Concord  Associations  took  action 
against  "  Campbellite  "  heresy,  the  latter  passing  a  resolution  advis- 
ing all  the  churches  to  lock  their  doors  against  the  followers  of 
Alexander  Campbell,  who    deny  the  agency  of  the  Spirit."  * 

Very  few  of  the  Kentucky  Associations  escaped  the  influence 
of  the  Reformers.  One  of  the  things  which  finally  closed  the  doors 
of  Baptist  churches  against  Reformers  was  the  union  between  them 

'  Life  of  Smith,  307,  388. 
'  Life  of  Smith,  298,  376. 
^Life  of  Smith,  330,  370,  382. 
*  Life  of  Smith,  394,  407. 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS"  73 

and  the  New  Lights,  or  Christians,  who  were  looked  upon  and 
called  Arians  or  Unitarians/ 

In  many  of  the  associations  of  Virginia  the  reforming  ideas 
found  a  hearing.  This  was  especially  so  in  and  around  Richmond. 
A  visitor  to  the  Dover  Association  in  1830  wrote  to  'Mr.  Campbell, 
saying :  "  Your  labor  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.  Light  is  evidently 
dawning.  We  counted  ten  public  teachers  who  are  more  or  less 
advocates  for  the  ancient  gospel,  and  not  one  of  them  whose  talents 
are  not  far  before  mine,  and  some  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  in 
the  Association."  "  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  communicate  at  this 
time  the  great  number  of  friends  in  this  Association  to  the  ancient 
gospel."  I  have  been  credibly  informed  that  three  of  the  churches 
in  King  William  County  are  almost  unanimous."  At  a  conference 
of  eight  churches  of  the  Dover  Association,  December,  1830,  the 
report  submitted  to  the  meeting  said :  "  The  system  of  religion 
known  by  the  name  of  Campbellism  has  spread  of  late  among  our 
churches  to  a  distressing  extent,  and  seems  to  call  loudly  for  rem- 
edial measures."  The  Goshen  Association  of  Virginia  seems  to 
have  been  early  permeated  with  the  teaching  of  Mr.  Campbell,  for 
at  its  meeting  in  1828  the  question  of  the  propriety  of  associations 
came  under  discussion,  resulting  in  the  withdrawal  of  that  Associa- 
tion from  the  General  Association.^ 

The  Nezv  York  Baptist  Register  of  the  year  1830  has  the 
following  paragraph :  *'  Mr.  Campbell's  paper  and  their  vigorous 
missionary  efforts  are  making  great  achievements.  It  is  said  that 
one-half  of  the  Baptist  churches  in  Ohio  have  embraced  this  senti- 
ment and  become  what  they  call  Christian  Baptists.  It  is  spreading 
like  a  mighty  contagion  through  the  Western  States,  wasting  Zion 
in  its  progress.  In  Kentucky  its  desolations  are  said  to  be  even 
greater  than  in  Ohio.^ 

Newspapers  devoted  to  the  advocacy  of  the  new  views  of  reform 
began  to  spring  up  throughout  the  states  principally  affected,  and 
contributed  in  no  small  degree  to  their  spread.  Besides  the  publi- 
cations of  ]Mr.  Campbell,  The  Christian  Baptist  and  The  Mil- 
lennial Harbinger,  were  such  papers  as  The  Millennial  Herald, 
established  by  Walter  Scott,  at  Steubenville,  Ohio.  1827  (monthly)  ; 

^Life  of  Smith,  506. 

^Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  534;    1831,  76;   Christian  Baptist,  VI.  HQ- 
^Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  117. 
*  Christian  Baptist,  IV.  262. 


74 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 


The  Tennessee  Christian  Register,  established  by  George  R. 
Fall,  at  Nashville,  in  1829  (weekly)  The  Christian  Examiner 
and  Millennial  Herald,  established  by  J.  Norwood,  at  Lexington, 
Kentucky,  in  1829  (monthly;'  The  Christian  RevieiL',  established 
in  1830,  and  published  at  Jeffersonville,  Indiana,  by  Nathaniel  Fall 
and  Beverly  James  (monthly)  f  The  Inquirer  for  Truth,  edited 
by  Mr.  Saxton,  of  Canton,  Ohio,  1827  (monthly)  ;*  The  Evangeli- 
cal Enquirer,  established  in  183 1  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  edited  by 
D.  S.  Burnet  (weekly)  f  The  Evangelist,  established  at  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio,  1832,  and  edited  by  Walter  Scott  (monthly)  f  The 
Christian  Messenger,  established  by  B.  W.  Stone  in  1825,  published 
at  Georgetown,  Kentucky  (monthly).' 

The  establishment  of  the  ancient  order  of  things  "  was  attended 
by  various  extravagances  and  abuses.  The  literalist,  the  extremist, 
accompanies  and  menaces  every  such  movement.  In  fact,  accom- 
panying the  entire  history  of  the  movement,  the  extremist  has  been 
found.  The  earliest  manifestations  of  abuse  were  in  the  form  of  a 
crass  literalism  in  the  application  of  the  principle,  "  The  restoration 
of  the  ancient  order  of  things."  The  church  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, attempted  to  restore  the  mutual  exhortations  of  the  apostolic 
churches,  and  soon  found  itself  rent  by  debates  and  dissensions  in 
public  meeting.  The  same  was  true  of  the  church  at  Cross  Roads, 
Virginia,  and  many  others.  Every  member  thought  it  his  privilege 
to  "  prophesy  "  in  the  meetings.  Both  Mr.  Campbell  and  Mr.  Scott 
thought  such  conduct  disorderly.  On  one  occasion  in  such  a  meet- 
ing Scott  arose  and  asked,  "  What,  my  brethren,  is  the  church  to  be 
a  mouth  ? "  Questions  concerning  the  disorders  incident  to  the 
introduction  of  the  ancient  order  of  things  were  frequently  coming  in 
to  Mr.  Campbell  and  received  answer  in  the  pages  of  the  Millennial 
Harbinger.^ 

Another  serious  difficulty  was  that  concerning  the  practice  and 
New  Testament  obligation  of  feet-washing  and  the  holy  kiss,  which 
were  introduced  into  many  of  the  churches,  but  repudiated  by  the 

'  Christian  Baptist,  VII.  71. 
-  Christian  Baptist,  VII.  72,  190. 
^  Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  228. 
*  Christian  Baptist,  IV.  262. 
'Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  191. 
^Millennial  Harbinger,  1832,  46. 
'  Christian  Baptist,  IV.  262. 
®  Memoirs,  II.  125. 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS"  75 


great  majority  and  entirely  discountenanced  by  Mr.  Campbell  as 
not  essential  parts  of  the  ancient  order."  Some  of  the  churches 
in  Kentucky  were  disturbed  by  serious  debate  over  "  the  attitude  of 
prayer,  the  hour  of  the  day  for  eating  the  Lord's  Supper,  the 
chemical  nature  of  the  wine  to  be  used,  the  propriety  of  a  sermon 
or  even  a  benediction,  after  the  supper,  the  necessity  of  the  loud 
amen  to  all  the  public  prayers,  the  number  of  deacons  in  a  con- 
gregation, the  holy  kiss,  etc." ' 

The  opposition  to  associations  was  pushed  to  extremes,  so 
that  there  was  no  way  to  further  evangelistic  effort.  Hayden  has 
occasion  in  his  History  to  complain  bitterly  of  the  senseless  disor- 
ganization of  the  "  Disciples."  Mr.  Campbell  himself  saw  the  folly 
of  it  and  tried  to  arrest  the  tendency.^  He  was  forced  to  acknowl- 
edge the  need  of  some  sort  of  association  or  co-operation  among 
Christians  for  the  purposes  of  self-preservation  and  growth.  Sid- 
ney Rigdon,  before  his  defection  to  the  Mormons,  began  to  advocate 
the  restoration  of  the  ancient  communism  as  practiced  in  the 
church  at  Jerusalem.  These  extremes  were  not  wide-spread.  They 
were  the  inevitable  phenomena  connected  with  an  earnest  effort  to 
restore  the  primitive  faith  and  practice. 

^Memoirs,  II.  129,  411. 
-  Life  of  Smith,  391,  392. 
^Hayden,  297,  298. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SPREAD   OF   THE   ''ANCIENT   ORDER   OF   THINGS"  AMONG 
THE   BAPTISTS:    CAUSES   AND  CONDITIONS. 

A  movement  that  spreads  so  rapidly  and  widely  and  succeeds 
so  evidently  as  that  led  by  the  Campbells  cannot  be  entirely 
inexplicable  or  groundless.  Such  a  phenomenon  is  not  without 
explanation  either  in  its  own  elements  or  in  the  condition  of  things. 
The  general  response  it  met  with  among  the  Baptists  indicates 
that  they  shared  more  things  in  common  with  the  ideas  of  the 
Campbells  than  any  other  religious  body  except  the  "  Christians," 
or  "New  Lights." 

I.  We  shall  seek  first  of  all  among  the  Baptists  for  the  condi- 
tions that  made  it  successful. 

I.  The  division  of  the  Baptists  into  Regulars  "  and  "  Sepa- 
rates." ' 

«  The  early  Baptists  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Kentucky 
were  divided  into  Regulars  and  Separates.  The  Separates  arose 
in  New  England  out  of  the  Great  Awakening  under  the  preaching 
of  Whitfield  and  Edwards.  The  party  that  favored  the  methods,  and 
rejoiced  in  the  fruits  of  the  revival  were  called  "  New  Lights." 
One  of  these  New  Lights,  Shubal  Stearnes,  adopted  Baptist  views 
concerning  baptism,  and  shortly  after,  with  a  company  of  sixteen 
of  like  sentiments,  came  to  \'irginia.  Their  work  extended  rapidly 
over  Carolina  and  Virginia  until  they  became  the  most  numerous 
of  the  Baptist  parties  in  that  region.  The  Separates  were  the  most 
active  and  the  chief  sufferers  in  the  struggle  for  religious  liberty  in 
Virginia.  In  their  preaching  they  were  characterized  by  the  fervid 
enthusiasm  and  the  methods  of  the  preachers  of  the  Great  Awaken- 
ing. In  their  religious  customs  they  sought  a  severe  simplicity, 
and  strove  for  a  faithful  conformity  to  the  customs  of  the  apos- 
tolic churches.  They  sought  to  reproduce  the  apostolic  customs  of 
feet-washing,  the  holy  kiss,  the  anointing  of  the  sick,  love-feasts, 
laying  on  of  hands,  and  weekly  communion.  They  went  so  far 
as  to  appoint  "  Apostles,"  after  deciding  at  the  Association  of 

^  Newman,  History  of  the  Baptists,  334,  292-303. 


76 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 


77 


1774  that  the  nth,  12th,  and  13th  verses  of  the  4th  chapter  of 
Ephesians  described  "  offices  that  are  now  in  use  in  Christ's 
Church."  "  It  was  further  resolved  that  said  offices  be  immediately 
established  by  the  appointment  of  certain  persons  to  fill  them,  pro- 
vided any  possessed  of  such  gifts  could  be  found  among  them." 
The  first  apostle  to  be  chosen  was  Samuel  Harriss.  Two  others 
were  afterward  appointed,  but  the  system  was  not  liked  by  the 
people,  and  after  fruitless  attempts  to  put  it  in  force,  it  was 
abandoned."^ 

In  their  doctrinal  views  they  were  about  equally  divided  between 
Calvinists  and  Armenians,  with  a  growing  inclination  toward  Cal- 
vinism. The  question  was  frequently  debated  in  their  associations, 
and  on  one  occasion,  the  antagonism  became  so  bitter  on  the  part 
of  the  Calvinists  against  the  Armenians,  that  the  Armenians  with- 
drew and  set  up  a  separate  meeting  alongside  of  the  other.  Nego- 
tiations were  carried  on  by  written  messages,  which  finally  resulted 
in  a  reconciliation. 

At  first  the  Separates  were  opposed  to  creeds  and  confessions, 
fearing  that  they  might  bind  them  too  much.*  They  did  not, 
however,  oppose  creeds  as  such,  but  on  account  of  the  errors  in 
them.  At  one  session  of  an  association  the  question  respecting  the 
utility  of  a  confession  of  faith  was  debated,  and  a  decision 
reached  "  that  each  church  might  exercise  her  own  discretion  in 
adopting  the  confession  of  faith  or  not."  The  Separates  finally 
adopted  the  "  Philadelphia  Confession  "  with  the  following  expla- 
nations :  "  To  prevent  its  usurping  a  tyrannical  power  over  the 
consciences  of  any  —  we  do  not  mean  that  every  person  is  bound 
to  the  strict  observance  of  everything  therein  contained,  nor  do  we 
mean  to  make  it,  in  any  respect,  superior  or  equal  to  the  Scriptures, 
in  matters  of  faith  and  practice;  although  we  think  it  the  best 
human  composition  of  the  kind  now  extant  ;  yet  it  shall  be  liable  to 
alterations,  whenever  the  general  committee,  in  behalf  of  the  Asso- 
ciation, shall  think  fit." 

They  also  regarded  with  suspicion  the  growing  power  of  asso- 
ciations, although  they  had  them,  the  first  having  been  organized 
in  1760.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Association  in  1771.  it  was  "unani- 
mously agreed  that  the  Association  has  no  power  or  authority  to 

^  Semple,  Virginia  Baptists,  81,  83. 

'  Semple,  Virginia  Baptists,  67,  80,  loi ;   Newman,  301. 


78 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS' 


impose  anything  upon  the  churches ;  but  that  we  act  as  an  advisory 
council." ' 

All  these  peculiar  customs  and  views  of  the  Separates  were, 
of  course,  offensive  to  the  Regular  Baptists,  and  their  persistence 
in  them  postponed  the  union  of  the  two  bodies  until  1787.  The 
adoption  of  the  Philadelphia  Confession  by  the  Separates  prepared 
the  way  for  such  a  union."  The  union  was  finally  effected  on  the 
basis  of  a  moderate  Calvinism  agreed  to  by  the  Separates  in  the 
words :  "  that  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  Christ,  and  free,  unmerited 
grace  alone  ought  to  be  believed  by  every  Christian  and  maintained 
by  every  minister  of  the  Gospel."  "  Upon  these  terms  we  are 
united;  and  desire  that  hereafter  the  names  Regular  and  Separate 
be  buried  in  oblivion,  and  that  from  henceforth  we  shall  be  known 
by  the  name  of  the  "  United  Baptist  Churches  of  Christ  in  Virginia."  ' 

The  condition  of  affairs  in  the  Baptist  churches  of  Virginia 
was  carried  over  into  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  by  the  emigration 
of  Baptists.  The  Separates  populated  southern  and  central  Ken- 
tucky, and  organized  what  was  called  "  The  South  Kentucky  Asso- 
ciation." The  Regular  Baptist  association  was  called  The  Elk- 
horn."  A  union  was  consummated  between  these  two  bodies  in 
1880-1801  upon  a  moderately  Calvinistic  platform.  There  was, 
however,  a  coloring  of  Armenianism  preserved  by  the  Separates, 
together  with  an  opposition  to  confessions  of  faith  and  the  author- 
ity of  associations.  The  Separate  Association  of  South  Kentucky 
was  divided  into  North  and  South  Districts.  Tate's  Creek  Asso- 
ciation had  been  formed  out  of  Separate  churches  before  the  union.' 

It  is  important  to  observe  that  the  very  first  association  in  Ken- 
tucky to  adopt  the  views  of  Alexander  Campbell  was  the  North 
District,  a  distinctly  Separate  body  of  churches.  These  very  Sepa- 
rates were  the  people  who  had  most  in  common  with  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Reformers.  The  first  associations  of  Kentucky  to  take 
action  against  "  Campbellism  "  were  those  associations  which  had 
been  strongly  Regular  in  their  composition,  namely,  Elkhorn  and 
Franklin.  The  principles  of  the  Reformation  never  gained  a  strong 
foothold  in  these  Associations  before  they  were  finally  condemned 
and  shut  out  from  Baptist  fellowship.  A  careful  study  of  the 
original  religious  complexion  of  Baptist  communities  in  Kentucky 

^  Semple,  64,  71,  88,  90. 
^  Semple,  loi. 

^Benedict,  History  of  the  Baptists,  811.  820;  life  of  Smith,  124.  135,  252. 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS' 


79 


will  reveal  the  fact  that  the  line  of  cleavage  between  Baptists  and 
Reformers  followed  the  line  of  cleavage  that  originally  existed 
between  Separates  and  Regulars.  This  phenomenon  is  manifest  in 
the  case  of  the  Tate's  Creek  Association,  which  was  Separate,  and 
declared  for  the  Reformation  among  the  first.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  Bracken  and  Boone's  Creek  Associations.^ 

This  phenomenon  is  observable  in  Virginia.  So  far  as  the 
teachings  of  Campbell  gained  any  foothold  in  this  early  period,  and 
in  those  circles  where  it  was  pronounced  in  Virginia,  it  was  among 
those  Baptists  who  had  been  originally  Separates.  A  single  case 
in  point  is  that  of  the  Dover  Association,  in  which  "  Campbellism  " 
gained  the  widest  and  firmest  hold,  and  which  was  one  of  the  four 
original  Separate  Baptist  associations.  It  was  the  very  stronghold 
of  the  Separates  in  Virginia.  It  was  the  infusion  of  the  Separates 
among  the  Baptist  churches  of  Kentucky,  Virginia,  and  Tennessee 
that  furthered  the  propagation  of  the  principles  of  the  Reformers 
among  them  in  those  states." 

2.  The  hyper-Calvinism  of  the  Baptists  in  many  sections.^ 
This  theological  manifestation  among  the  Baptists  of  that  period 
goes  a  long  way  in  explaining  the  success  of  the  Reformers.  It  is 
a  phenomenon  to  which  all  Baptist  historians  refer,  and  which  they 
all  alike  deplore.  This  type  of  doctrine  was  not,  however,  peculiar 
to  the  Baptists.  It  prevailed  among  all  the  denominations  of  the 
time,  except  the  Methodists,  who  led  a  revolt  against  it.  Cahnnism 
was  the  orthodoxy  of  that  time.  It  was  not  merely  held  as  a  specu- 
lation, but  consistently  reduced  to  practice  and  preached.  It  was 
the  vital  gospel,  the  stock  in  trade  of  ever\'  preacher.  Calvinism 
was  thought  to  give  point  and  persuasiveness  to  every  appeal  to  the 
unconverted,  and  to  furnish  stimulus  and  assurance  to  the  elect. 
Let  one  of  these  preachers  (B.  W.  Stone)  who  was  himself  brought 
up  in  the  system  and  supported  it  for  a  time,  describe  it.  "  I  at  that 
time  believed  and  taught,  that  mankind  were  so  totally  depraved, 
that  they  could  do  nothing  acceptable  to  God,  till  his  Spirit,  by  some 
physical,  almighty  and  mysterious  power  had  quickened,  enlightened 
and  regenerated  the  heart,  and  thus  prepared  the  sinner  to  believe 
in  Jesus  for  salvation.  I  began  plainly  to  see,  that  if  God  did  not 
perform  this  regenerating  work  in  all,  it  must  be  because  he  chose 


^  Life  of  Smith,  376. 

-  Benedict,  660 :  Semple,  120. 

'Vedder,  92. 


8o         SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 


to  do  it  for  some  and  not  for  others,  and  that  this  depended  on 
His  own  sovereign  will  and  pleasure.  It  then  required  no  depth 
of  intellect  to  see  that  this  doctrine  is  inseparably  linked  with  uncon- 
ditional election  and  reprobation  as  taught  in  the  Westminster  Con- 
fession of  Faith.  They  are  virtually  one ;  and  this  is  the  reason  why 
I  admitted  the  decrees  of  election  and  reprobation,  having  admitted 
the  doctrine  of  total  depravity."  ^ 

These  doctrines  were  not  merely  taught  in  the  class-room,  or 
reasoned  upon  in  the  study,  but  were  the  substance  of  discourses 
from  the  pulpit.  There  was  a  pronounced  tendency,  however, 
among  Baptist  preachers  to  carry  the  doctrines  to  extremes.  Speak- 
ing of  the  preachers  of  that  time,  J.  B.  Jeter  says:  ''They  seemed 
to  think  that  they  were  called  to  the  ministry  for  no  other  purpose 
than  to  proclaim  and  vindicate  a  few  abstruse  and  barren  points  of 
the  Calvinistic  creed ;  but  their  ministry,  excepting  to  a  few  indoc- 
trinated zealots,  was  not  pleasing.  The  people  generally,  becoming 
disgusted  with  such  dry  and  unsatisfying  speculations,  were  ready 
to  attend  on  any  ministry  which  promised  them  a  palatable  if  not 
a  more  nutritious  diet.  In  churches  of  this  sort  Mr.  Campbell 
found  his  way  prepared  before  him."  *  The  same  testimony  is 
borne  by  the  Baptist  historian,  Newman  (History  of  the  Baptists, 

488). 

Campbell  and  his  fellow-preachers  set  their  faces  squarely 
against  this  sort  of  preaching,  not  so  much  because  they  did  not 
believe  the  doctrines  of  Calvinism,  as  because  the  pulpit  was  not 
the  place  for  such  speculations.  Campbell  had  been  brought  up  a 
Calvinist,  and  remained  a  moderate  one  to  his  death.  The  question 
with  the  Reformers  was  not  that  between  Calvinists  and  Arme- 
nians —  of  that  they  cared  little  —  but,  What  was  the  apostolic 
gospel  and  the  primitive  method  of  preaching  it.  They  were  as  a 
whole  inclined  to  the  Armenian  side,  as  being  more  consonant  with 
the  freedom  of  the  gospel  and  its  universal  appeal.  They  just  as 
consistently  deprecated  the  preaching  of  Armenianism  to  sinners. 
They  refused  to  make  it  a  test  question.  The  question  was  not 
"  Do  you  believe  that  salvation  is  free  and  unmerited,"  or  "  Do  you 
believe  that  Christ  tasted  death  for  every  man,"  or  ''  Do  you  believe 
that  you  are  totally  depraved  and  utterly  helpless  to  turn  to  God 
without  His  previous  quickening  power,"  but  "  Do  you  believe  on 

^  Stone,  B.  W.,  Autobiography,  30. 

'Jeter,  J.  B.,  Campbellism  Examined,  79,  80. 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 

the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  if  so,  "  Arise  and  be  baptized  and  wash  away 
your  sins."  That  was  the  conventional  plan  of  every  one  of  their 
sermons.  It  varied  with  different  preachers,  but  their  ideas  centered 
around  one  question,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  and  this  they 
answered  after  what  they  thought  was  the  manner  of  the  apostolic 
preachers. 

Such  preaching,  characterized  by  such  simplicity,  directness,  and 
scripturalness,  fell  upon  their  listeners  with  refreshing  newness. 
The  strength  and  fascination  of  the  appeal  to  the  unconverted  lay 
in  the  assured  certainty  of  one's  instant  salvation  through  an 
instant  obedience  to  the  requirements  of  the  gospel.  A  favorite 
phrase  in  assuring  the  people  that  they  need  not  wait  for  some  token 
of  the  divine  call  to  a  better  life  was :  "  And  he  took  them  the  same 
hour  of  the  night  and  washed  their  stripes;  and  was  baptized,  he 
and  all  his  immediately."  This  was  all  strange,  and  in  many  cases 
thrilling.  Persons  were  baptized  by  the  hundreds  under  this  preach- 
ing. The  most  successful  preachers  among  the  Baptists,  before  the 
separation  of  the  Reformers,  were  those  very  men  who  had  grasped 
the  apostolic  method  and  went  about  using  it.  The  new  ideas  at 
once  demonstrated  their  effectiveness  in  bringing  the  unconverted 
to  decision  at  least,  and  won  the  approval  of  many  Baptists.  The 
churches  where  the  Reformers  labored  were  always  sure  to  send  in 
to  the  meetings  of  the  associations  reports  of  the  largest  numbers 
of  accessions.  In  many  cases  the  number  so  far  surpassed  those  of 
the  Regular  Baptist  churches,  that  the  comparisons  became  pain- 
ful.^ The  reforming  churches  grew  by  leaps  and  bounds,  while  the 
strictly  Baptist  churches  scarcely  held  their  own,  or  reported  losses. 
As  illustrating  the  startling  effect  of  this  preaching  the  following 
story  is  told  of  John  Whitacre.  "  On  one  occasion  he  was  at  a  meet- 
ing where  several  persons  were  gathered  at  the  altar  in  prayer  for 
divine  power  to  come  down.  Among  them  was  a  lady  of  intelHgent 
appearance  who  evidently  was  in  deep  distress.  She  prayed  that 
God  would  give  her  faith,  saving  faith;  that  he  would  help  her 
to  believe  in  Jesus.  When  she  ceased  Whitacre  spoke  to  her; 
'  Madame,'  said  he,  'what  would  you  give  for  faith  in  Mohamet?' 
'  Nothing,'  was  her  somewhat  indignant  reply.  '  Why  not,'  he  con- 
tinued. '  Because,'  she  rejoined,  '  I  believe  him  to  be  an  impostor.' 
*  But  why  are  you  so  anxious  for  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  ?'  '  Because,' 
said  she,  *  I  believe  He  is  my  only  Savior.'    *  Well,'  said  Whitacre, 

^Christian  Baptist,  VII.  i86. 


82 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 


'  why  are  you  praying  for  that  which  you  say  you  have  ?  Why  not 
go  forward  and  obey  the  Gospel  and  be  made  free  from  sin/  "  ^ 

B.  W.  Stone  bears  witness  to  the  startHng  effect  of  the  new 
preaching  in  his  own  experience  (page  45).  "  When  we  began  first 
to  preach  these  things,  the  people  appeared  as  just  awakened  from 
the  sleep  of  ages  —  they  seemed  to  see  for  the  first  time  that  they 
were  responsible  beings,  and  that  a  refusal  to  use  the  means  was 
a  damning  sin." 

3.  Attachment  to  creeds  among  the  Baptists." 

One  of  'Mr.  Campbell's  greatest  protests,  as  we  have  seen,  was  that 
against  creeds  as  bonds  of  fellowship  and  tests  of  orthodoxy.  Bap- 
tist churches  everywhere  had  their  creeds,  to  which  they  were  more 
or  less  devoted.  There  was  no  general  uniformity  of  credal  state- 
ment; each  church  was  free  to  choose  its  own  creed  or  make  one 
for  itself.  The  Philadelphia  Confession  came  nearer  becoming  an 
authoritative  Baptist  creed,  and  in  fact  obtained  more  general  accep- 
tance among  the  Baptists,  than  any  other  single  confession.  Entire 
associations  adopted  it  and  pressed  it  upon  the  churches.  There  were 
other  Baptist  churches  that  rejected  all  human  creeds.  This  was 
true  of  the  Separate  churches  especially.  Such  churches  were,  of 
course,  very  cordial  toward  the  teaching  of  Campbell.  The  tradi- 
tions of  the  Baptist  church  and  consistency  with  her  professions  of 
loyalty  to  the  Scriptures,  placed  her  among  the  creedless  churches 
then,  as  she  has  become  in  fact  to-day.  Yet  not  a  few  eminent 
Baptists  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  went  into  the 
field  in  defense  of  creeds  and  confessions  of  faith.' 

4.  The  anti-missionary  sentiment  among  the  Baptists.* 

Mr.  Campbell's  opposition  to  missionary  societies  in  the  earl}  num- 
bers of  the  Christian  Baptist  doubtless  obtained  for  him  the  sympa- 
thy of  the  anti-missionary  element  among  the  Baptists,  in  so  far 
as  his  opposition  extended  to  societies  and  methods.  Campbell  did 
not  oppose  missions,  or  the  conversion  of  the  heathen.  He  did  not 
share  the  hyper-Calvinism  of  that  party.  It  is  acknowledged  by  all 
Baptist  historians  that  this  party  carried  Calvinism  to  the  extreme 
of  antinomianism.     They  could  never  have  found  sympathy  in 

'  Hayden,  89. 

^Baxter,  Life  of  Scott,  90-100;  Hayden,  28-30;  Vedder,  192,  193. 
^  Christian  Baptist,  IV.  200. 
*  Christian  Baptist,  IV.  T17. 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS"  83 


Campbell  for  this.  Just  how  important  or  numerous  were  the  acces- 
sions to  the  ranks  of  the  Reformers  from  this  source  is  not  clear. 
They  applauded  Campbell's  attack  upon  the  "  mercenary  methods  " 
of  missionary,  Bible,  and  tract  societies  for  raising  money,  but 
they  could  not,  however,  have  favored  his  cause  against  creeds  and 
metaphysical  speculations.  This  crusade  against  societies  and  a 
hired  ministry  was  of  brief  duration.  He  soon  saw  the  baleful 
influence  of  it  in  unspiritual  and  selfish  persons.  It  is  scarcely  possi- 
ble to  reconcile  the  conflicting  accounts  of  two  writers  upon  this 
subject,  who  draw  just  opposite  conclusions  from  the  influence  of 
this  anti-missionary  party.  Newman  (History  of  the  Baptists,  441) 
quotes  approvingly  the  statement  of  a  writer,  who  says :  "  Some  of 
the  prime  friends  of  missions  among  the  Baptists  became  converts 
to  Mr.  Alexander  Campbell's  system,  and  joined  him.  Thus  mis- 
sions became  beyond  measure  odious."  Jeter  (Campbellism  Ex- 
amined, 80)  says :  His  opposition  to  Christian  missions  and 
other  benevolent  enterprises,  gained  him  many  friends."  "  The 
antinomian  Baptists  were,  almost  without  exception,  hostile  to  all 
combined  and  self-denying  efforts  among  Christians  for  spreading 
the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel."  "  They  were  delighted  to  find  that 
they  had  in  Mr.  Campbell  a  champion  in  their  cause  so  zealous 
and  distinguished."  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  Campbell  would 
attract  the  sympathy  of  both  the  prime  friends  of  missions  and  the 
prime  foes  of  missions.  The  points  of  agreement  were  not  numerous 
enough  between  Campbell  and  the  antinomians  to  result  in  very 
large  accessions  to  his  ranks  from  them.  Moreover,  Daniel  Parker, 
the  leader  of  the  anti-missionary  element  in  the  church,  was  as  bit- 
terly hostile  to  Campbell  as  any  opponent  he  had.^  There  is  no 
doubt  that  Campbell  did  appeal  to  the  opposers  of  missions  and 
that  he  attracted  such  a  following  which  continues  to  the  present 
day.  It  is  the  more  significant  in  its  bearings  upon  the  question 
to  observe  that  in  just  those  regions  of  the  South  and  West  where 
the  anti-missionary  Baptists  prevailed,  is  the  region  where  the  anti- 
missionary  element  among  the  Disciples  prevails  at  the  present 
time,  namely,  in  Tennessee,  South  Kentucky,  Arkansas,  and  Texas. 

II.    General  religious  conditions  favorable  to  its  success. 

The  movement  of  the  Campbells  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  condi- 
tions of  the  time.    Confessionalism  and  theological  preaching  had 

'  Christian  Baptist,  185,  191. 


84         SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 

gone  to  seed  in  all  the  churches.  The  need  for  a  more  vital,  simple, 
and  biblical  gospel  was  felt  everywhere.  Revolts  against  dogma 
and  confessionalism  were  not  confined  to  any  one  denomination. 

Several  religious  movements,  all  characterized  by  a  desire  to 
return  to  the  Bible,  sprang  up  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  These  were  led,  one  out  of  the  Baptist  Church,  by  Abner 
Jones  of  Vermont,  one  out  of  the  Methodist  Church  by  James 
O'Kelly  of  Virginia,  another  out  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  by 
B.  W,  Stone  of  Kentucky.  Each  of  these  bodies  assumed  organic 
form,  shared  alike  in  their  opposition  to  creeds  and  sectarian  names, 
and  took  the  name  Christian.  Parts  of  these  three  bodies  discovered 
each  other  and  formed  the  so-called  Christian  Church,"  which 
surv^ives  under  the  modifying  designation  Connection."  The 
major  part  of  the  Stone  movement  joined  the  followers  of  Alexan- 
der Campbell.  The  "  Church  of  God  "  came  into  being  on  essen- 
tially the  same  principles  in  1830. 

Besides  these  organized  and  affiliated  bodies  there  were  single 
churches  that  sought  the  New  Testament  basis,  which  were  entirely 
out  of  fellowship  with  other  churches :  one  in  Baltimore  under  the 
leadership  of  a  Mr.  Duncan;  one  in  Philadelphia  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Mr.  Chambers;  and  one  in  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  ^Ir.  iMcLean.^  All  three  were  Presbyterian  churches.  They 
renounced  the  authority  of  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  and 
the  Presbytery  in  1825,  and  established  themselves  upon  New  Testa- 
ment ground.  About  18 18- 1820  a  church  in  New  York  was  organized 
independently,  with  the  Bible  as  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice, 
and  sought  to  restore  the  exact  order  of  the  apostolic  churches. 
This  church  heard  of  other  similar  organizations  from  time  to  time, 
and  entered  into  correspondence  with  them  to  ascertain  the  faith 
and  practice  of  each.  The  following  churches  were  heard  from  — 
one  in  Edinburg,  one  in  Manchester,  and  one  in  Dublin.  These 
are  a  few  out  of  a  multitude  of  instances  of  churches,  which, 
unknown  to  each  other,  felt  that  the  Protestant  churches  were 
departing  from  the  principles  of  the  great  Reformation  in  their 
faith  and  practice.  These  are  indications  that  the  spirit  of  reform 
was  in  the  air.  It  belonged  to  the  spirit  of  the  age.  None  of  them 
have  come  to  such  wide-spread  influence  or  strength  as  the  move- 
ment led  by  the  Campbells." 

^Christian  Baptist,  III.  144,  215. 

^Christian  Baptist,  V.  88,  97,  155,  169,  234,  276. 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS"  S5 


III.    Conditions  of  success  present  in  the  movement. 
I.    The  leaders. 

Thomas  Campbell  and  his  son  Alexander  were  two  of  the 
strongest  characters  of  the  age  in  which  they  lived.  Thomas 
was  unsurpassed  in  Christlikeness  of  spirit,  keenness  of  insight, 
and  persuasiveness  of  speech.  All  who  ever  saw  him  testify 
to  the  saintliness  of  his  character,  the  splendid  fatherHness  of  his 
bearing.  His  days  of  strength  and  leadership  were  well  nigh  over 
before  the  real  struggle  began,  in  which  his  son  revealed  such  rare 
ability.  He,  however,  was  the  creator,  the  molding  mind  and  genius 
of  the  movement.  He  gave  it  birth,  laid  out  the  lines  of  its  advance, 
and  provided  its  axiomatic  watch-words  in  the  Declaration  and 
Address.  Little  new  was  added,  save  by  way  of  amplification,  by  his 
son. 

Alexander  Campbell  was,  by  pre-eminence,  the  advocate  and 
defender  of  the  principles  of  the  movement.  Friend  and  foe  alike 
acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  his  endowments  for  the  task  allotted 
him.  Says  Xewman  (History  of  the  Baptists,  489)  :  *'  Alexander 
Campbell  was  a  man  of  fair  education  and  of  unbounded  confidence 
in  his  resources  and  tenets.  He  was  possessed  of  a  powerful  per- 
sonality and  was  one  of  the  ablest  debaters  of  his  age.  In  the  use 
of  caricature  and  sarcasm  he  has  rarely  been  surpassed.  Through- 
out the  regions  that  he  chose  for  the  propagation  of  his  views, 
the  number  of  Baptist  ministers  who  could  in  any  way  approach 
him  in  argumentative  power  or  in  ability  to  sway  the  masses  of  the 
people,  was  very  small."  No  one  thing  obtained  for  him  such 
prestige  among  the  Baptists  in  this  early  period  as  his  debates  with 
Walker  and  ]\Iaccalla.  Jeter  says  (76)  :  "By  his  fearless  and  forci- 
ble defense  of  the  distinctive  sentiments  of  the  Baptists,  in  his 
debates  with  ^Messrs.  Walker  and  Maccalla,  he  secured  extensively 
the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the  denomination."  His  debate 
with  Robert  Owen,  the  most  famous  skeptic  of  his  age,  in  1829,  at 
Cincinnatti,  and  his  acknowledged  vanquishment  of  his  opponent, 
won  for  him  an  international  reputation  and  the  gratitude  of  the 
entire  Christian  world.  Owen  had  challenged  the  clergy  of  the 
United  States  to  debate  with  him.  No  one  volunteered.  He  grew 
bold  and  boastful.  Finally  Alexander  Campbell  wrote  an  accep- 
tance of  the  challenge. 

These  leaders  were  fortunate  in  the  men  who  gathered  around 
them  —  Walter  Scott,  Adamson  Bentley,  Wm.  Hayden  in  Ohio, 


86 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS" 


John  Smith,  Jacob  Creath,  Sr.,  Jacob  Creath,  Jr.,  J.  T.  Johnson,  and 
B.  W.  Stone  in  Kentucky.  They  were  all  strong  men;  not  many 
highly  educated,  but  splendidly  endowed  by  nature.  They  were 
singularly  adapted  to  the  times  and  the  people.  The  native  genius 
of  such  a  man  as  John  Smith  was  of  the  first  grade.  Jacob  Creath, 
Sr.,  was  pronounced  by  Henry  Clay  to  be  "  the  finest  orator  that 
Kentucky  has  ever  produced." 

2.  Their  methods. 

The  methods  they  employed  were  designed  to  win  men.  In  the 
forefront  of  refonnation,  they  urged  the  restoration  of  the  apos- 
tolic preaching.  The  recovery  of  the  apostolic  matter  and  manner, 
method  and  purpose  in  preaching,  was  the  unique  contribution 
and  power  of  these  men.  Great  emphasis  was  laid  upon  the  making 
of  converts  in  every  meeting.  Their  purpose  in  preaching  was  to 
win  men  to  Christ  or  to  their  reformatory  ideas.  The  result  was  an 
evangelism  and  a  proselytism.  This  two-fold  appeal  contributed 
to  their  rapid  increase  as  well.  To  bring  men  to  an  immediate  deci- 
sion was  the  result  aimed  at.  It  was  this  practical,  evangelistic  turn 
that  gave  the  movement  power  and  progress. 

The  "  plan  of  salvation  "  as  laid  down  in  the  New  Testament 
was  dwelt  upon  in  all  of  their  preaching  and  carefully  explained 
from  the  Scriptures.  They  studied  plainness  and  simplicity  in  their 
public  speech.  They  marked  and  numbered  the  steps  in  the  process 
of  salvation.  It  included:  i.  Faith;  2,  Repentance;  3,  Baptism;  4, 
Forgiveness  of  Sins ;  5,  Gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  6,  Eternal  Life. 
Such  was  the  answer  to  the  question  propounded  by  the  inquiring 
sinner,  "  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  The  result,  as  has  been 
noted,  were  frequent  and  increasing  accessions  to  the  churches. 
Necessarily  these  accessions  included  many  proselytes  from  other 
churches  who  had  been  convinced  of  the  correctness  of  the  princi- 
ples. IMany  regarded  this  as  a  second  conversion.  This  simple, 
direct,  and  vital  evangelism,  which  has  characterized  the  preaching 
of  the  ministers  of  the  Disciples  from  that  day  to  this,  accounts  for 
their  rapid  growth  more  than  anything  else. 

3.  Their  message. 

Their  method  explains  much  of  their  success,  but  as  great  an 
element  of  appeal  lay  in  their  message.  Stated  in  brief  it  was,  the 
union  of  all  Christians  on  the  basis  of  apostolic  faith  and  practice. 
This  proclamation  contained  t^vo  members:  i,  The  union  of  all 
Christians.    This  was  the  guiding  principle,  the  governing  motive. 


SPREAD  OF  THE  "ANCIENT  ORDER  OF  THINGS"  87 

It  was  not  difficult  to  convince  the  Christian  communities  of  that 
time  of  the  evils  of  sectarianism  and  division.  Their  task  so  far 
was  an  easy  one.  It  was  a  beautiful  vision,  a  glorious  ideal  that 
looked  down  upon  them.  The  realization  of  it  was  a  task  worthy  of 
the  most  earnest  effort.  A  united  church,  of  one  mind  and  spirit, 
marching  together  to  the  conversion  of  the  world  and  the  over- 
throw of  infidelity  —  this  had  been  the  prayer  of  the  Master  and  the 
dream  of  the  church  in  all  ages,  and  was  to  be  the  immediate 
achievement  of  the  present  generation  of  Christians,  if  the  churches 
would  only  abandon  their  divisive  creeds  and  confessions,  their 
human  systems  of  doctrine  and  discipline,  and  their  sectarian  names, 
and  return  to  the  Christianity  of  Christ  and  his  apostles.  All 
agreed  to  the  desirability  of  the  union  of  all  Christians ;  but  not  all 
agreed  as  to  the  way  of  it,  namely :  2,  By  restoring  apostolic  Chris- 
tianity. The  controversy  began  and  has  ever  since  waged  on  this 
last  member.  Yet  this  plan  was  convincing  and  captivating  to  mul- 
titudes who  saw  the  millennium  in  the  not  distant  future  through  its 
acceptance.  There  was  power  of  appeal  in  it,  because  there  was 
something  in  it  worth  while.  Then  too  it  was  easily  understood. 
Many  preachers  of  mediocre  talent  found  their  greatness  in  its 
advocacy. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  SEPARATION. 

As  early  as  1828- 1830  the  novel  propaganda  of  Alexander  Camp- 
bell began  to  attract  wide-spread  attention  of  a  diverse  sort.  Some 
said,  It  is  a  religious  craze  buoyed  up  by  sophistry  and  plausible 
error,  that  will  soon  pass  away.  Others  said,  It  is  born  of  the  devil 
for  the  present  torment  of  God's  people  and  ought  to  be  destroyed. 
Still  others  said,  It  is  the  work  of  God,  who  hath  raised  up  a 
prophet  in  these  last  days  in  the  person  of  the    Bethany  Sage." 

The  same  strange  stories  are  told  of  these  days  as  of  the  early 
days  of  other  rising  reformers.  Many  who  began  by  abhorring  his 
errors,  or  pitying  his  madness,  ended  by  espousing  his  cause.  Some 
who  came  to  hear  him  with  stones  to  stone  him  (this  was  literally 
true  of  some  of  the  early  preachers  of  the  new  reformation),  stole 
away  in  shame  to  throw  away  their  stones  and  returned  to  defend 
him.  The  lukewarm,  the  indifferent,  the  amused,  the  bitterly  hos- 
tile, were  all  won  over  and  composed  the  stream  of  recruits  grad- 
ually filling  his  ranks.  Not  until  such  a  movement  begins  to 
succeed  does  it  draw  down  upon  it  the  bitterest  opposition.  If 
merciless  hostility  ever  bears  witness  to  the  success  of  a  thing,  we 
need  only  consult  the  number,  the  eminence,  and  the  bitterness  of  his 
opposers  to  conclude  that  he  had  achieved  the  highest  degree  of 
success  before  1830.  Yet  both  friend  and  foe  alike  testified  to  his 
success.  In  this  instance,  as  in  many  others,  a  man's  worst  foes 
shall  be  they  of  his  own  house.  The  Baptists  fought  the  progress 
of  the  new  ideas  more  than  any  other  people.  They  wrote  replies, 
issued  decrees,  excommunicated  his  followers,  defamed  his  charac- 
ter, locked  church  doors  against  him  and  his  missionaries,  ostra- 
cized and  proscribed  them  in  various  quarters,  and  burned  his  books 
and  theirs.  Such  treatment  only  fanned  his  ardor  and  made  him 
friends. 

The  Reformers  were  not  wanting  in  bitterness  of  reply.  While 
generally  they  quietly  submitted  to  measures  against  them,  there 
are  instances  where  they  returned  reproach  for  reproach,  injury  for 
injury,  and  blow  for  blow.  There  was  reason  for  their  conducting 
themselves  becomingly  or  even  meekly  before  their  enemies,  for 

S8 


THE  SEPARATION 


89 


they  had  everything  to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose,  and  many  friends 
could  be  made  by  it.  They  understood  that  the  zeal  and  frenzy  of 
their  opposers  were  but  indications  of  conscious  weakness.  The 
Reformers,  on  the  other  hand,  were  conscious  of  the  strength  of 
their  cause  and  sensible  of  its  steady  progress.  The  process  in  Bap- 
tist churches  against  the  Reformers  began  with  opposition  to  them 
in  local  churches  and  associations,  followed  by  separation  from  them. 

The  earliest  opposition  arose,  as  we  have  seen,  in  the  Redstone 
Association,  the  first  association  with  which  Campbell  had  relation. 
It  began  as  soon  as  the  relation  was  formed.  It  was  manifest  and 
outspoken  in  1816,  and  by  1823  had  become  so  formidable  that 
Campbell  was  obliged  to  withdraw  and  take  fellowship  with  the 
Mahoning  Association.  The  enemies  of  Campbell  and  his  church 
at  Brush  Run  had  been  stealthily  trying  to  work  up  a  majority  of  the 
churches  in  the  Association  against  him,  but  had  failed  hitherto.' 
In  1823  they  thought  they  had  finally  succeeded  and  could  venture 
a  formal  motion  to  drop  the  church  from  membership.  The  with- 
drawal of  Campbell  defeated  their  purpose.  The  matter  was  fol- 
lowed up  at  the  meetings  of  the  Association  in  1824  and  1825.  At 
the  latter  the  churches  which  had  not  mentioned  the  Philadelphia 
Confession  in  their  letters  were  denied  a  seat.  In  1826  the  leaders 
against  Campbell  succeeded  in  organizing  the  Association  out  of 
the  messengers  from  ten  churches  that  favored  their  project,  and 
cut  off  formally  and  one  by  one  the  other  thirteen  churches  of 
the  Association  as  not  properly  constituted  according  to  Baptist 
usage.  The  minority  thus  withdrew  from  the  majority.  These 
churches  thus  cut  off  from  fellowship  in  the  Redstone  Association 
met  in  November,  1826,  at  Washington  and  formed  a  new  asso- 
ciation under  the  name  "  The  Washington  Association."  This  was 
the  first  action  against  the  Reformers  by  an  association.' 

I.    Divisions  in  local  churches. 

In  Ohio  the  Baptist  church  at  Nelson,  divided  in  1824  between 
those  who  favored  the  Articles  of  Faith,"  and  those  who  took  the 
Bible  alone  as  the  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  In  1828  the  Baptist 
church  at  Bazetta  divided,  and  in  1829  the  church  at  Sharon,  Pa., 
just  across  the  Ohio  line.  Innumerable  other  smaller  schisms  took 
place  of  which  no  record  has  been  preserved.^ 

^Memoirs,  11,  68. 

-  Christian  Baptist,  III.  91 ;  IV.  55. 
^  Hayden,  22,  282,  269. 


90 


THE  SEPARATION 


In  Kentucky  the  first  church  to  take  action  against  "  Camp- 
bellism  "  was  at  Lulbegrud,  under  the  ministrations  of  John  Sniith.^ 
Their  grievance  was  on  account  of  the  reading  of  the  "  new  trans- 
lation," changes  in  the  formula  of  baptism,  and  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  supper,  as  they  embodied  it  in  a  letter  to  the 
North  District  Association.  Grassy  Lick  church  divided  in  1829,'' 
Clear  Creek  in  1829  —  both  over  the  question  of  human 
creeds/  The  church  at  South  Benson  was  rent  asunder  over  an 
attempt  to  force  the  Beaver  resolutions  upon  it*  The  church  at 
iMay slick  divided  in  1830  over  the  question  of  the  breaking  of 
bread,"  The  church  at  Louisville  suffered  from  division  in  1830. 

In  Virginia  the  same  process  was  repeated  among  the  Baptist 
churches.  The  "  First  Church  "  of  Richmond  divided  in  1832.^  In 
Indiana  and  Illinois  there  were  divisions  in  many  churches.  Local 
separations  between  Baptists  and  Reforming  Baptists  took  place 
continuously  and  widely  from  1825.  The  societies  of  separated 
Reformers  regarded  themselves  as  in  a  larger  Baptist  fellowship. 
Each  faction  usually  laid  claim  to  being  the  true  Baptist  church  of 
the  place  and  appointed  messengers  to  the  next  meeting  of  the  asso- 
ciation. The  matter  was  thereby  transferred  to  the  associa- 
tion. The  struggle  of  the  two  sets  of  messengers  for  recognition 
by  the  association  invariably  precipitated  a  division  there,  the 
majority  being  either  for  or  against  the  Reformers. 

In  almost  every  instance  of  local  division  the  Baptist  element^ 
was  the  active  aggressor.'^  The  Reformers  were  content  to  abide 
with  the  Regular  Baptists  provided  they  were  given  perfect  freedom 
of  testimony  against  what  they  regarded  as  errors  of  doctrine  and 
practice.  In  no  instance  do  the  Reformers  seem  to  have  started  an 
action  for  the  exclusion  of  the  Regular  Baptists  whether  in  the 
majority  or  minority.  They  were  at  liberty  to  remain  in  full  fellow- 
ship in  churches  where  the  Reformers  were  in  the  majority.  But 
the  strictly  Baptist  element,  whether  in  the  majority  or  minority, 

'  Life  of  Smith,  179. 
'  Life  of  Smith,  289. 
^Life  of  Smith,  314. 
^Life  of  Smith,  333. 

"Life  of  Smith,  384;  Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  571;   1831,  185. 
"Christian  Baptist,  VI.  146;  VII.  79,  249;  Benedict,  660;  Memoirs,  11. 

363. 

'Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  179;  Memoirs,  11.  39S;  Jeter,  92;  Christian 
Baptist,  VII.  187. 


THE  SEPARATION 


would  not  tolerate  the  presence  of  the  Reformers.  In  many 
instances  the  excluded  party  was  the  larger.  The  moderator  of  the 
North  District  Association  of  Kentucky  at  a  meeting  in  1829,  at 
which  letters  of  complaint  against  the  Reformers  were  read  from 
several  churches,  arose  and  declared :  "  Brethren,  we  can  do  nothing, 
for  those  who  are  complained  against  are  more  numerous  than  those 
who  complain.  There  is  only  one  course  left  to  us;  that  is  to 
withdraw  ourselves  from  them."  ^  The  Baptists  were  very  anxious 
to  get  rid  of  the  Reformers.  "  Why  is  it  that  you  Reformers  do 
not  leave  us  ?  Go  off  quietly  now  and  let  us  alone,"  said  a  Baptist 
to  John  Smith.  "  We  love  you  too  well  for  that,"  replied  Smith. 
"  My  brother  Jonathan  once  tried  to  swap  horses  with  an  Irishman, 
but  put,  perhaps,  too  great  a  price  on  his  horse.  The  Irishman  de- 
clined to  trade,  and  by  way  of  apology,  said,  Tt  would  be  a  great  pity, 
Mr.  Smith,  to  part  you  and  your  horse,  for  you  do  seem  to  think  so 
very  much  of  him.'  So  w^e  feel  toward  you  Baptist  brethren."  '  The 
refusal  of  the  Reformers  to  separate  themselves  from  the  Baptists 
grew  out  of  their  conscientious  objections  to  division,  and  the  hope 
that  by  remaining  with  them  they  might  be  the  means  of  correct- 
ing some  practices  of  the  Baptists.  One  element  of  their  testimony 
was  a  protest  against  sectarianism  and  division.  They  were 
ready,  to  a  man,  to  fight  for  peace." '  The  right  of  the  churches  to 
exclude  was  warmly  debated  in  churches,  associations,  and  papers. 
In  many  cases  a  division  involved  the  title  to  property  which  could 
only  be  settled  by  an  appeal  to  the  secular  courts.  The  result  was 
that  each  party  blamed  the  other  for  the  divisions.  The  Baptists 
justified  their  exclusions  of  the  Reformers  on  the  ground  of  self- 
preserv'ation,  and  in  the  interest  of  pure  doctrine  and  Baptist  usage. 
The  Reformers  justified  their  peculiar  teaching  on  the  ground  that 
they  were  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures  to  which  the  Baptists 
could  not  object  if  consistent  with  their  traditions  and  principles.* 
2.   Divisions  in  associations. 

The  first  association  to  take  formal  and  definite  action  against  — 
the  Reformers  was  the  Redstone  of  Pennsylvania  in  1825-1826. 
This  had  a  decisive  influence  upon  both  churches  and  associations 
in  their  attitude  toward  this  growing  party.    The  thing  that  preci- 

^Life  of  Smith,  297. 
-Life  of  Smith,  393. 
'  Jeter,  88. 

*  Christian  Baptist,  VII.  187. 


92 


THE  SEPARATION 


pitated  general  and  determined  action  against  them  as  a  party  not 
entitled  to  fellowship  in  Baptist  churches,  and  that  introduced  the 
period  of  complete  separation,  was  the  action  of  the  Beaver  Asso- 
ciation of  Pennsylvania  in  1829/  This  action  was  brought  about  by 
a  Mr.  Winters  who  had  opposed  Campbell  when  both  were  members 
of  the  Redstone  Association.  The  action  took  the  form  of  a  series 
of  resolutions  against  the  errors  and  corruptions  of  Campbell  and 
the  Mahoning  Association,  for  "  disbelieving  and  denying  many  of 
the  doctrines  of  the  Holy  Scriptures."  The  following  is  a  list  of 
these  resolutions : 

"  I.  They,  the  Reformers,  maintain  that  there  is  no  promise  of 
salvation  without  baptism. 

"  2.  That  baptism  should  be  administered  to  all  who  say  they 
believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,  without  examination 
on  any  other  point. 

3.  That  there  is  no  direct  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on 
the  mind  prior  to  baptism. 

"  4.  That  baptism  procures  the  remission  of  sins  and  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  5.  That  the  Scriptures  are  the  only  evidence  of  interest  in 
Christ. 

"  6.  That  obedience  places  it  in  God's  power  to  elect  to  salva- 
tion. 

"  7.  That  no  creed  is  necessary  for  the  church  but  the  Scrip- 
tures as  they  stand.  And 

"  8.  That  all  baptized  persons  have  the  right  to  administer  the 
ordinance  of  baptism." 

These  resolutions  against  the  Reformers  were  copied  widely  in 
Baptist  papers  with  commendation.  A  copy  of  them  was  forwarded 
to  Silas  M.  Noel,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at  Frankfort,  Ky., 
"  who  at  once  sent  up  a  request  to  the  Franklin  Association,  which 
was  about  to  convene  at  the  Forks-of-Elkhorn  meeting-house  in 
Woodford  County,  that  the  charges  of  Beaver  against  the  Reform- 
ers should  be  indorsed  and  published  by  the  Association.  Franklin, 
after  due  consideration,  not  only  complied  with  that  request,  but 
advised  all  the  churches  in  her  connection  to  discountenance  the 
several  errors  and  corruptions  for  which  Mahoning  had  already 
suffered  excision."  ^    An  attempt  to  have  these  resolutions  spread 

^Christian  Baptist,  VII.  269;  Memoirs,  II.  322. 
^Life  of  Smith,  330. 


THE  SEPARATION 


93 


upon  the  records  of  the  South  Benson  church  failed  at  first,  but 
succeeded  later  and  led  to  a  division,  the  anti-creed  party  of  Reform- 
ers going  off  and  forming  a  Church  of  Christ  on  the  Scriptures 
alone.  On  account  of  this  action  a  meeting  of  the  Franklin  Associa- 
tion was  called  for  July,  1830,  and  a  circular  letter  was  written  and 
ordered  sent  to  all  the  churches  of  the  Association  and  to  other 
associations  with  whom  they  were  in  correspondence,  detailing 
charges  of  errors  against  Campbell  and  the  Reformers/ 

In  April,  1830,  a  minority  of  the  churches  of  North  District 
Association  withdrew  fellowship  from  the  majority,  taking  with 
them  the  books  and  papers,  the  constitution,  and  the  name.  The 
reforming  churches  resolved  to  meet  as  a  "  yearly  meeting  for  in- 
struction and  worship.' 

In  September,  1830,  the  Boone's  Creek  Association  of  Kentucky 
rejected  the  messengers  from  North  District  and  Tate's  Creek,  the 
latter  being  accused  of  having  departed  from  her  constitution.  The 
Association  dropped  the  six  out  of  thirteen  churches  from  corre- 
spondence because  they  rejected  their  creeds.' 

In  June,  1830,  a  faction  of  Tate's  Creek  Association  met  and 
excluded  their  reforming  brethren.  They  drew  up  a  protest  against 
the  Reformers,  embodying  the  "  Beaver  Resolutions  "  and  adding 
four  more  errors,  namely : 

8.    That  there  is  no  special  caU  to  the  ministry. 

"  9.    That  the  law  given  by  God  to  ]\Ioses  is  abolished. 

10.  That  experimental  religion  is  enthusiasm.  And 

11.  That  there  is  no  mystery  in  the  Scriptures.''. 

They  closed  their  protest  by  saying:  "  We  intend  to  have  no 
controversy,  but  to  remain  as  we  are,  the  Tate's  Creek  Association 
of  United  Baptists."  This  action  was  taken  by  ten  of  the  twenty-six 
churches  composing  the  Association.  They  met  in  August  as  the 
regular  Tate's  Creek  Association  and  resolved  to  drop  corre- 
spondence with  every  association  that  tolerated  the  heresy  of  Camp- 
bellism."  * 

In  August,  1830,  the  Elkhorn  Association  of  Kentucky  excluded 
the  churches  of  Versailles  and  Providence  from  fellowship,  and 
cut  off  with  them  three  preachers  —  Jacob  Creath,  Sr.,  Jacob  Creath, 

^  Life  of  Smith,  347. 

"Life  of  Smith,  308-310. 

'Life  of  Smith,  388. 

*Life  of  Smith,  376. 


94 


THE  SEPARATION 


Jr.,  and  Joseph  Hewitt.  It  also  cut  off  the  reforming  party  of  North 
District,  represented  by  John  Smith,  who  was  present  in  person  as 
corresponding  messenger." 

In  1830,  the  Bracken  Association  of  Kentucky  took  action 
against  the  Reformers  in  refusing  to  recognize  messengers  from 
their  churches.  In  the  case  of  the  MaysHck  church  they  recognized 
the  majority,  in  the  case  of  the  Bethel  church  they  recognized 
the  minority,  and  in  the  case  of  the  North  District  Association, 
they  recognized  the  minority  —  on  the  ground  in  each  case  that 
those  rejected  had  embraced  a  system  of  so-called  reformation  and 
had  departed  from  the  original  principles  of  the  United  Baptists. 
Their  circular  letter  begins  :  Dear  Brethren. —  In  addressing  you  at 
this  time,  we  lament  to  have  to  say,  that  a  dark  and  gloomy  cloud 
overspreads  our  horizon  unequaled  since  the  establishment  of  the 
Baptist  society  in  Kentucky.  Associations  and  churches  are  divid- 
ing and  of  course  peace  and  harmony  have  departed.'' 

The  Union  Association  and  Campbell  County  Association  were 
both  disturbed  by  separations  the  same  year,  the  latter,  says  Bene- 
dict, "  experienced  a  similar  reduction  of  their  strength." ' 

The  resolutions  of  the  Beaver  Association  were  heard  from  in 
Virginia.  They  became  the  model  for  action  by  the  Appomatox 
Association.  After  a  preamble  from  those  resolutions,  the  follow- 
ing recommendations  were  passed: 

"  I.  Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  all  the  churches 
composing  this  Association,  to  discountenance  the  writings  of  Alex- 
ander Campbell. 

"  2.  Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  all  the  churches  in 
this  Association,  not  to  countenance  the  new  translation  of 
the  New  Testament.  * 

"  3.  Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  all  the  churches  in 
this  Association,  not  to  invite  into  their  pulpits  any  minister  who 
holds  the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  Beaver  xA.nathema."  This 
action  was  taken  in  1830.' 

More  significant,  however,  than  the  action  of  Appomatox,  was 
that  of  the  Dover  Association  of  Virginia,  at  a  meeting  December 
30-31,  1830.''    This  was  not  a  regular  meeting  of  the  Association, 

'  Life  of  Smith,  365 ;  Christian  Baptist,  VI.  83. 

^Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  478. 

'  Benedict,  818,  819. 

*  Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  261,  328. 

^Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  76. 


THE  SEPARATION 


95 


but  was  called  together  by  the  enemies  of  the  Reformers  to  deal 
specifically  with  them.  On  account  of  the  standing  and  influence 
of  this  Association,  and  the  eminence  of  the  men  composing  it,  the 
action  is  of  the  greatest  significance.  It  marks  the  beginning  of  the 
end  of  the  process  of  separation.  It  was  decisive  for  all  other  asso- 
ciations. In  this  Association  were  Robert  Semple  and  Andrew 
Broaddus,  two  of  the  most  representative  and  honored  men  of  the 
denomination.  The  action  was  started  by  Robert  Semple  in  his 
own  church  at  Bruington,  by  the  reading  of  the  following  resolu- 
tion :  "  Whereas,  it  has  been  named  to  this  church  that  certain 
persons  have  been  baptized  within  the  bounds  of  this  church,  con- 
trary to  our  usual  regulations,  and  being  also  informed  that  similar 
occurrences  have  taken  place  in  neighboring  churches,  and  appre- 
hensive some  unpleasant  confusion  may  arise  from  it  tending  to 
disturb  the  peace  of  the  churches ;  Resolved,  That  brethren  Josiah 
Ryland,  Hugh  Campbell,  Robert  Courtney,  and  Temple  Walker,  be 
appointed  a  committee  to  confer  with  each  other  and  such  com- 
mittees of  other  churches  as  may  be  necessary,  who  at  some  future 
day  may  report  to  this  church  the  result  of  their  conference  and 
recommend  what  measures  may  be  taken  for  the  peace  and  happi- 
ness of  Zion." 

The  church  to  which  Andrew  Broaddus  ministered  was  the  next 
to  take  similar  action.  A  conference  was  agreed  upon,  to  which 
eight  churches  sent  committees  or  delegates.  They  met  at  Upper 
King  and  Queen  meeting-house,  December  30,  1830.  A  committee 
of  nine  was  appointed  "  to  sit  at  night  at  the  house  of  Col.  R.  M. 
Garnett,  and  form  a  report  to  be  brought  forward  and  considered 
to-morrow."  The  conference  met  the  next  day  to  hear  the  report. 
After  a  few  general  statements  as  to  the  mission  of  the  church 
and  the  value  of  associations  in  preserving  it  from  error  and 
disorder,  the  grievance  of  the  conference  of  churches  is  set  forth 
in  the  report  as  follows :  "  The  system  of  religion  known  by  the 
name  of  Campbellism  has  spread  of  late  among  our  churches  to  a  dis- 
tressing extent,  and  seems  to  call  loudly  for  remedial  measures.  Ac- 
cordingly eight  churches  deeply  aggrieved  by  the  principles  and 
practices  of  this  new  party,  have  sent  their  respective  delegates  to  this 
conference,  to  consult  in  fear  of  God,  as  to  the  most  proper  measures 
to  be  adopted  in  the  present  state  of  things.  The  errors  of  this 
system  are  various  ;  some  of  them  comparatively  unimportant,  while 
others  appear  to  be  of  the  most  serious  and  dangerous  tendency. 


96 


THE  SEPARATION 


Passing  by  those  of  inferior  magnitude,  we  will  notice  such  only  as 
strike  at  the  vitals  of  Godliness  and  will  endeavor  to  recommend 
suitable  corrections.  In  principles  the  errors  alluded  to  may  be 
classed  under  four  heads,  viz.,  the  denial  of  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  salvation  of  man  —  the  substitution  of  reformation  for 
repentance  —  the  substitution  of  baptism  for  conversion,  regenera- 
tion, or  the  new  birth  —  and  the  Pelagian  doctrine  of  the  sufficiency 
of  man's  natural  powers  to  effect  his  own  salvation.  In  practice, 
this  party  go  on  to  administer  baptism  in  a  way  radically  different 
from  that  which  has  been  usual  among  Baptists,  and  from  what  we 
conceive  to  be  the  New  Testament  usage  —  making  no  inquiry 
into  the  experience  or  the  moral  standing  of  the  subjects,  and  going 
from  church  to  church  with  or  without  pastors  —  urging  persons 
to  be  immersed,  and  immersing  them  —  in  a  manner  contrary  to 
good  order  and  propriety.  The  conference,  therefore,  deeply 
impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  evils  herein  noticed,  and  taking  into 
serious  consideration  the  unhappy  state  of  things  thence  resulting, 
have  come  to  the  following  resolutions: 

"  I.  Resolved,  That  we  consider  the  gracious  operations  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  the  regeneration  and  salvation  of  the  soul,  as  a  funda- 
mental doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  and  universally  maintained  by 
Baptists  (such  as  we  hold  in  fellowship)  in  all  countries. 

"  2.  Resolved,  That  to  maintain  baptism  to  be  conversion  — 
regeneration  —  the  new  birth,  and  that  in  baptism  sins  are  actually 
(not  figuratively)  washed  away,  is  a  radical  error,  founded  in 
popery  and  ought  not  to  be  countenanced. 

"  3.  Resolved,  That  we  consider  the  doctrine  of  repentance  (or 
repentance  for  sin)  as  held  among  us,  and  as  set  forth  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, to  be  of  vital  importance ;  and  that  in  its  room  to  substitute 
reformation  (as  is  generally  understood)  tends  to  subvert  one  of 
the  main  pillars  of  the  Christian  religion. 

"  4.  Resolved,  That  to  maintain  the  sufficiency  of  human  nature 
to  the  purposes  of  salvation,  with  the  mere  written  word,  and  with- 
out the  gracious  influence  and  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is,  in  our  view, 
a  plain  contradiction  of  the  Word  of  God,  a  denial  of  the  fundamental 
doctrine  held  among  Baptists,  and  a  vain  attempt  to  introduce  the 
Pelagian  scheme,  long  since  exploded. 

"  5.  Resolved,  That  we  recommend  to  our  churches,  that  when 
any  of  their  members  shall  maintain  any  or  all  of  these  radical 
errors,  that  in  love  and  tenderness,  they  end^^avor  to  convince  them 


THE  SEPARATION 


97 


of  their  errors ;  but  in  the  event  of  faihng  in  the  object,  that  in  the 
fear  of  God,  and  in  the  spirit  of  faithfulness,  and  after  reasonable 
forbearance,  they  declare  non-fellowship  with  such,  and  separate 
them  from  their  communion  as  offenders  against  God  and  truth, 

"  6.  Resolved,  That  in  regard  to  practice,  we  advise  that  our 
churches  take  a  decided  stand  against  the  disorderly  and  disor- 
ganizing measures  pursued  by  some  of  this  party,  in  going  among 
churches  and  administering  baptism  upon  their  new  plan  —  flying 
in  the  face  of  all  church  order,  trampling  down  all  former  usages 
among  Baptist  churches,  and  disregarding  the  peace  of  the  churches, 
and  especially  of  the  pastors.  Such  a  course  being  subversive  of  all 
order  and  regular  church  government,  ought  to  receive  the  most 
prompt  and  decided  reprehension  from  the  churches. 

"  7.  Resolved,  That  persons  thus  baptized  ought  not  to  be 
received  into  any  Baptist  church  of  regular  standing,  but  upon 
strict  examination  as  to  experience,  moral  standing,  and  the  motives 
which  induced  them  to  such  step.  Conscious,  however,  that  many 
pious  and  well-meaning  persons  may  be  misled  by  these  preachers, 
we  would  advise  that  every  degree  of  gentleness  and  affection  be 
exercised  towards  them.  Finally,  brethren,  we  are  well  aware  that 
m  all  such  cases  there  will  arise  many  difficulties.  We  would  there- 
fore recommend  the  exercise  of  much  prudence,  and  all  reasonable 
forbearance  in  any  step  that  may  be  taken;  and  especially  that 
you  keep  a  steady  eye  upon  the  great  head  of  the  Church,  who  has 
promised  his  effectual  aid  in  every  season  of  need.  And  with  this 
view.  Resolved,  That  this  conference  recommend  to  the  churches 
the  observation  of  a  day  of  solemn  humiliation,  with  fasting  and 
prayer,  with  reference  to  the  state  of  religion  and  the  distress  which 
has  given  rise  to  this  meeting.  Accordingly,  Tuesday,  the  8th  of 
March,  was  appointed  for  the  purpose." 

Robert  Semple  delivered  an  "  interesting  and  instructive  dis- 
course, to  a  crowded  and  attentive  congregation,"  at  the  opening  of 
the  conference,  and  closed  with  "an  affectionate  and  impressive 
exhortation."  Of  course  the  report  fell  into  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Campbell,  and  was  printed  in  full  in  The  Millennial  Harbinger^ 
He  pleads  "  not  guilty  to  every  item  of  the  bill  of  indictments." 
After  a  rather  sharp  review  of  the  action  of  the  Dover  Association, 
he  corrects  what  he  declares  to  be  misrepresentations  of  his  teach- 
ing.  "We  have  opposed  the  whole  mystic  system  of  interpreting  the 

^Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  81. 


98 


THE  SEPARATION 


book,  and  the  idea  that  God  has  given  us  an  unintelHgible  and 
incredible  testimony.  We  have  taught  that  our  power  to  believe  is 
not  in  ourselves,  but  in  the  testimony  or  in  him  who  gives  testimony. 
That  God  has  rendered  the  testimony  credible,  or  has  made  us  able 
to  believe  it,  because  confirmed  by  signs,  by  miracles,  by  all  the 
gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  contend  that  as  the  testimony  is  con- 
firmed, there  is  no  promise  in  the  book,  as  there  is  no  need,  of 
supernatural  and  physical  aid  to  help  men  to  believe.  That  so  soon 
as  men  believe  sincerely,  or  in  the  heart,  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of 
God,  and  the  only  way  and  name  given  to  men  by  which  they  can  be 
saved,  and  are  immersed  into  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit,  they  are  pardoned,  regenerated,  saved,  adopted,  reconciled  to 
God,  and  receive  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  is  the  head  and  front  of  our 
offending.  We  neither  make  faith  by  itself,  nor  water  by  itself,  nor 
the  blood  of  Christ  by  itself,  nor  the  name  of  the  Lord  by  itself, 
nor  grace  by  itself,  regeneration,  conversion,  or  salvation.  We 
never  separate  repentance  and  reformation.  We  can  not  conceive 
of  a  reformation  unto  life  without  a  change  of  mind  and  sorrow  for 
the  past.  But  we  choose  to  use  Bible  terms  in  preference  to  the 
scholastic.  Without  a  pure  heart  and  a  holy  life,  we  teach  that  no 
man  can  enter  into  the  everlasting  kingdom.  Baptism,  without 
faith  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  we  contend,  avails  nothing.  But  that 
to  him  that  believes  and  is  immersed,  we  assert  that  Jesus  promised 
salvation.  That  immersion  to  a  believer  is  the  sign  and  medium  of 
remission  of  sins,  we  must  teach;  or,  in  the  words  of  the  book, 
we  must  proclaim  immersion  for  the  remission  of  sins  to  every 
one  that  believes  God's  testimony."  He  closed  his  review  of  the 
report  by  proposing  to  discuss  the  questions  at  issue  with  Semple 
and  Broaddus  in  the  pages  of  The  Millennial  Harbinger. 

The  report  came  before  Semple's  own  church  at  Bruington  for 
adoption,  March  5,  1831.^  Broaddus  was  present  to  take  part  in  the 
discussion,  so  also  were  six  of  the  ministers  who  signed  the  report.  A 
Dr.  Duval  led  the  opposition  to  the  report.  It  was  finally  voted 
down.  Thus  in  the  very  church  where  the  movement  started,  its 
issues  were  rejected.  A  division  in  the  church  was  averted  for  the 
time  being.  It  need  scarcely  be  added  that  Mr.  Campbell  regarded 
the  foregoing  statement  of  his  teaching  by  the  Dover  Association 
as  a  gross  misrepresentation,  due  partly  to  willful  ignorance  and 
partly  to  blind  partisanship.   There  was  some  ground  for  the  misun- 

^  Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  178. 


THE  SEPARATION 


99 


derstanding  of  his  position  on  account  of  many  extreme  statements 
made  under  the  heat  of  controversy  for  rhetorical  effect.  On  the 
other  hand  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  for  one  man  to  understand 
another  sympathetically  when  they  are  opposed  to  each  other.  They 
tend  to  to  fly  apart,  not  to  draw  together.  Argumentation  is  always 
centrifugal  not  centripetal.  No  two  persons  can  arrive  at  a  correct 
understanding  of  each  other  when  they  are  determined  to  prove 
each  other  wrong.  Two  such  eminent  thinkers  and  honored  lead- 
ers as  Semple  and  Broaddus  could  not  be  charged  with  want  of 
ability  to  understand.  But  there  were  first  of  all  real  differences 
of  thought,  and  these  tended  to  magnify  and  multiply  the  differences. 
What  Campbell  really  believed  and  taught  he  sets  forth  with  brevity 
and  clearness  in  his  reply. 

It  was  this  very  element  of  misrepresentation  in  all  reports  of 
Campbell's  views  that  finally  helped  him.  It  was  this  exaggera- 
tion in  the  report  of  the  Dover  Association  that  gave  it  such  an 
easy  defeat  in  Semple's  own  church  and  in  his  very  presence.  If 
two  of  the  ablest  leaders  and  fairest  thinkers  among  the  Baptists 
could  thus  misunderstand  Campbell,  what  could  be  expected  of  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  ministry ;  what  of  the  average  church  member  ? 
We  must  make  a  very  large  allowance  for  misunderstanding  if 
not  unfairness  in  all  unfriendly  accounts  of  his  teachings,  not  only 
by  Baptist  but  all  other  opponents. 

There  being  no  amendment  of  affairs  or  harmonizing  of  differ- 
ences between  Baptists  and  Reformers  during  the  next  two  years, 
in  the  fall  of  1832  the  Dover  Association  at  its  regular  meeting  took 
the  following  action:  We,  therefore,  the  assembled  ministers  and 
delegates  of  the  Dover  Association,  after  much  prayerful  deliberation, 
do  hereby  affectionately  recommend  to  the  churches  in  our  connection 
to  separate  from  their  communion  all  such  persons  as  are  promoting 
controversy  and  discord  under  the  specious  name  of  '  Reformers.' 
That  the  line  of  distinction  may  be  clearly  drawn,  so  that  all  who  are 
concerned  may  understand  it,  we  feel  it  our  duty  to  declare  that 
whereas,  Peter  Ainsley,  John  DuVol,  Matthew  W.  Webber,  Thomas 
M.  Henley,  John  Richards,  and  Dudley  Atkinson,  ministers  within 
the  bounds  of  this  Association,  have  voluntarily  assumed  the  name 
of  '  Reformers,'  in  its  party  application,  by  attending  a  meeting 
publicly  advertised  for  that  party,  and  by  communing  with  and 
otherwise  promoting  the  views  of  the  members  of  that  party,  who 
have  been  separated  from  the  fellowship  and  communion  of  Regular 


lOO 


THE  SEPARATION 


Baptist  churches,  Resolved,  That  this  Association  can  not  consistently 
and  conscientiously  receive  them,  nor  any  other  ministers  main- 
taining their  views,  as  members  of  their  body ;  nor  can  they  in  the 
future  act  in  concert  with  delegates  from  any  church  or  churches 
that  may  encourage  or  countenance  their  ministrations."  The  Bap- 
tist church  in  Richmond  had  divided  in  March,  1832,  sixty-eight 
members  going  off  and  forming  a  church  which  met  for  the  first  time 
March  4th/  This  action  of  the  Dover  Association  may  be  said  to 
mark  the  culmination  of  separation  in  Virginia,  for  just  before,  the 
Reformers  began  to  hold  separate  associations,  and  this  was  one  of 
the  grounds  for  the  action. 

During  the  year  1830,  which  was  pre-eminently  the  year  of  sepa- 
ration of  Baptists  from  Reformers,  reports  are  numerous  and  dark 
of  the  state  of  affairs  in  Baptist  churches.  Surely  it  was  a  dark 
period  when  many  times  the  half  of  a  congregation  or  the  majority 
of  it,  went  over  to  the  Reformers ;  when  parts  of  associations,  and 
the  strongest  parts,  declared  for  "  the  ancient  order  of  things."  It 
meant,  in  many  instances,  not  merely  the  weakening  of  Baptist 
churches,  but  the  closing  of  church  doors,  the  cessation  of  public 
services,  the  breaking  up  of  old  associations,  and  the  estrangement 
of  friends.  Not  the  least  was  the  reproach  such  divisions  brought 
upon  the  Christian  religion  before  an  unsympathetic  world.  Bap- 
tist papers  were  full  of  warnings,  reproaches,  and  lamentations 
over  the  inroads  of  the  new  teachings.  The  following  lamentation 
is  taken  from  a  report  of  the  state  of  things  in  Tennessee  by  Mr. 
McConnico : 

"  My  beloved  brethren : —  Campbellism  has  carried  away  many 
whom  I  thought  firm.  These  wandering  stars  and  clouds  without 
water  ever  learning  and  never  able  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  make  proselytes  much  more  the  children  of  the  devil  than 
they  were  before.  O  Lord !  hear  the  cries  and  see  the  tears  of  the 
Baptists;  for  Alexander  hath  done  them  much  harm.  The  Lord 
reward  him  according  to  his  works.  Look  at  the  Creaths  of  Ken- 
tucky. Look  at  Anderson,  Craig,  and  Hopwood,  of  Tennessee. 
See  them  dividing  churches  and  spreading  discord,  and  constituting 
churches  out  of  excommunicated  members.  Such  shuffling  —  such 
lying  —  such  slandering  —  such  evil-speaking  —  such  dissembling — 
such  downright  hypocrisy  —  and  all  under  the  false  name  of  refor- 
mation." "They  have  made  a  division  in  Cool  Spring  church."  "The 

^Millennial  Harbinger,  1832,  572;  Memoirs,  H.  364. 


THE  SEPARATION 


loi 


Association  pronounced  the  old  party  the  church,  and  excluded 
Anderson,  Craig,  and  all  who  had  gone  off  with  them."  ''These  were 
a  large  minority  —  they  say  the  majority."  "  At  Lepres  Fork  church 
a  small  party  have  gone  over  to  Campbellism."  "  At  Big  Harpeth 
church,  where  I  have  lived  and  served  thirty-two  years,  ten  or  twelve 
members  have  left  us."  "At  Nashville,  P.  S.  Fall,  native  of  England, 
and  Campbell's  best  friend,  has  led  off  most  of  that  church  which 
was  a  member  of  Cumberland  Association."  "  On  Saturday  before 
the  first  Lord's  day  in  September,  Willis  Hopwood,  as  is  expected, 
will  be  excluded  and  perhaps  most  of  Liberty  church  will  follow 
him."  "  Robertson's  Fork  church,  Giles  County,  will  divide,  and 
probably  a  number  will  follow  Hopwood."  "  Zion  church,  Bedford 
County,  I  fear,  will  suffer  much  from  the  same  new  ancient  Gospel." 
"Other  churches  may  have  some  partial  sifting."  "The  calf  too  is  set 
up  in  Alabama.''^  This  piece,  not  all  of  which  has  been  quoted, 
appeared  in  The  Columbian  Star,  under  date  of  July  22,  1830.  It 
was  copied  in  full  by  Mr.  Campbell  into  The  Millennial  Harbinger. 
A.  W.  Clopton  pursued  through  several  numbers  of  the  Star  what  he 
called  a  "  Review  of  Campbellism,"  gathering  from  all  quarters 
reports  of  what  was  taking  place  in  Baptist  churches.  The  text  of 
his  "  Reviews  "  was :  "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  The 
matter  that  went  in  was  in  illustration  of  this  text.  Making  due 
allowance  for  the  somber  coloring  purposely  sought  after  in  such 
pieces  as  the  above,  it  is  clear  that  a  feeling  of  alarm  and  gloom  per- 
vaded the  Baptist  churches  over  the  divisions  and  separations  that 
were  taking  place. 

It  is  manifest  that  the  year  1830  terminated  all  hope  or  prospect 
of  a  satisfactory  adjustment  of  differences  between  Baptists  and 
Reformers,  and  all  possibility  of  their  living  and  working  together 
harmoniously.  During  that  year  the  Franklin,  the  North  District, 
the  Boone's  Creek,  the  Tate's  Creek,  the  Elkhorn,  the  Bracken,  the 
Union,  and  the  Campbell  County  Associations  of  Kentucky,  the 
Appomatox  and  the  Dover  Associations  of  Virginia,  excluded  or 
anathematized  the  Reformers  and  made  their  fellowship  longer  with 
Baptist  churches  impossible.  Their  separate  existence  thus  made 
necessary,  the  Reformers  accepted  the  inevitable,  no  matter  how 
serious  a  disappointment  it  was  to  them,  or  however  averse  they 
were  to  the  formation  of  a  new  sect.  It  was  difficult,  however,  to 
break  up  all  association  between  Baptists  and  Reformers  at  once.  In 

^  Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  542. 


I02 


THE  SEPARATION 


many  localities  the  ties  that  bound  the  members  of  a  church  together 
had  been  made  strong  by  long  association,  mutual  interest,  or  perhaps 
blood  relationship.  The  Reformers  were  loathe  to  give  up  the  privi- 
leges of  a  larger  fellowship  and  accept  those  of  a  smaller.  Separated 
in  one  locality,  they  entered  into  fellowship  in  another.  Before  the 
yearly  meetings  of  the  Reformers  had  become  general,  there  was  very 
much  intermingling  in  the  general  gatherings.  As  late  as  183 1 
Thomas  Campbell  was  received  into  many  Baptist  pulpits  and  heard 
by  Semple  and  Broaddus  during  a  trip  to  Virginia.  In  1832  Alex- 
ander Campbell  made  a  trip  to  the  East.  "  In  New  York  he  was 
refused  all  the  Baptist  meeting-houses."  The  same  was  true  in 
Philadelphia  and  other  cities  where  he  stopped.^ 

The  year  1830  may  be  said  to  mark  the  beginning  of  the  sepa- 
rate existence  and  co-operation  of  the  "  Disciples  of  Christ,"  or  "The 
Christian  Church."  Both  names  had  been  in  use  without  any  uni- 
formity. The  term  "  Disciples  "  was  more  largely  and  preferably 
used  by  Campbell  and  his  followers,  while  the  term  "  Christian," 
was  used  by  B.  W.  Stone  and  his  adherents.  Campbell  conceived 
a  prejudice  against  the  use  of  the  name  "  Christian  "  because  he 
felt  that  it  had  been  sectarianized  by  the  followers  of  Stone.  He 
feared  that  a  false  impression  would  be  made  by  its  application  to 
those  who  wanted  to  be  free  from  all  entangling  alliances  of  a 
sectarian  or  theological  sort.  The  name  as  popularly  applied  to  the 
"  Stoneites  "  stood  for  a  denial  of  the  full  and  proper  divinity  of 
Christ.  They  were  called  "  Arians,"  "  Socinians,"  or  any  other 
name  that  denoted  this  heresy.  Campbell  wanted  a  name  that  every 
child  of  God  could  wear  without  carrying  any  sectarian  distinction. 
The  name  Disciples  of  Christ "  had  not  been  appropriated 
by  any  sect.  This  name  better  than  any  other  at  that  time  seemed 
to  him  fitted  to  designate  all  true  followers  of  Christ.  Since  the 
union  of  the  followers  of  Stone  with  the  followers  of  Campbell  in 
1832,  both  terms,  "  Christians  "  and  "  Disciples,"  have  been  in  use. 
Wherever  the  Stone  influence  has  been  dominant,  in  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Missouri,  the  term  "  Christian  " 
prevails  as  a  designation.^ 

No  sooner  had  the  Reformers  been  cast  out  of  Baptist  fellow- 
ship than  they  began  to  appoint  separate  meetings  and  organize 

^  Memoirs,  II.  362 ;  11.  392. 

^Christian  Baptist,  11.  105;  Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  118,  371;  1831, 
19,  389,  557;  Life  of  Smith,  444,  445. 


THE  SEPARATION 


separate  associations  or  conventions.  The  Mahoning  and  Still- 
water Associations  of  Ohio  were  the  earliest  distinct  meetings  of 
Reformers  or  Disciples.  These  were  formed  on  the  basis  of  the 
old  Baptist  Associations  bearing  the  same  name.  They  did  not 
preserve  their  Baptist  features,  but  in  their  place  they  held  a 
yearly  meeting  "  for  worship  and  instruction.  The  churches  on 
the  Western  Reserve  set  the  example  for  all  such  meetings  in  all 
parts  of  the  country.  The  earliest  separate  meeting  of  Reformers 
in  Kentucky  was  held  in  October,  1829,  at  Mount  Zion,  Clark 
County,  within  the  boundaries  of  the  North  District  Association.' 
It  was  a  three  days'  meeting,"  and  was  called  for  social  worship 
and  exhortation.  In  1830  a  notice  was  sent  out  in  the  papers  that 
a  "  three  days'  meeting  similar  to  the  one  held  at  Mount  Zion, 
would  be  held  at  Clear  Creek,"  by  those  friendly  to  the  Reforma- 
tion under  the  name  of  "  Baptist  Reformers."  In  May,  1830,  a 
meeting  of  the  "  friends  and  advocates  of  the  ancient  Gospel  and 
ancient  order  of  things  "  "  from  several  counties  of  Kentucky,"  was 
held  at  Mayslick,  Ky.,  and  attended  by  Alexander  Campbell.'  The 
North  District  Association  had  dissolved  in  its  Baptist  form  in 

1 83 1,  and  resolved  to  meet  for  social  worship  at  Sharpsburg  in 

1832.  '  The  chief  feature  of  these  yearly  meetings  was  the  preach- 
ing by  representative  advocates  of  the  new  order  of  things.  If 
the  meeting  continued  over  Sunday,  the  obsers^ance  of  the  Lord's 
supper  was  invariably  attended  to.  These  meetings  were  held 
wherever  the  Reformers  were  numerous  enough  to  justify  such 
a  meeting.  A  meeting  of  all  their  churches  in  the  region  of  Nash- 
ville was  held  at  that  place  in  October,  1832.*  Every  element  of 
authority  over  the  local  churches,  every  legislative  or  judicial  ele- 
ment, was  sedulously  eliminated  from  these  gatherings.  So  care- 
ful were  they  to  avoid  the  abuses  of  associations,  so  fearful  were 
they  of  their  tyranny,  that  they  were  at  first  indifferent  to  any 
association  of  churches  for  purposes  other  than  social  worship. 
This  extreme  was  perfectly  natural.  The  danger  was  that  valuable 
time  and  strength  should  be  dissipated  in  these  purely  religious 
meetings  without  anything  being  accomplished  to  further  the  gos- 
pel in  destitute  places.    Campbell  saw  this  danger,  and  in  the  early 

^Life  of  Smith,  310,  325. 
^Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  238. 
'  Life  of  Smith,  484-486. 
*  Millennial  Harbinger,  1832,  572. 


THE  SEPARATION 


numbers  of  the  Millennial  Harbinger  pleaded  for  some  more  effec- 
tive sort  of  co-operation  among  the  churches.^ 

Such  is  the  process  by  which  the  Disciples  of  Christ  became  a 
separate  people.  All  the  problems  that  confront  a  people  thus 
embarked  upon  a  separate,  distinct,  denominational  existence,  came 
up  for  discussion  in  the  pages  of  The  Millennial  Harbinger,  The 
subjects  treated  and  the  spirit  of  their  treatment  change.  It  is 
evident  that  a  new  situation  and  new  responsibilities  have  arisen. 

^  Hayden,  296,  461 ;   Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  235. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES. 

The  causes  of  the  separation  lay,  as  a  matter  of  course,  in  the 
differences,  either  real  or  imaginary,  between  the  Baptists  and 
Reformers.  The  Baptists  saw  danger  to  their  cherished  beliefs  and 
their  ecclesiastical  order  in  the  teachings  of  Alexander  Campbell. 
He  struck  at  many  of  the  fundamental  doctrines  that  underlay  their 
denominational  edifice.  It  had  been  rapidly  and  successfully  built 
up  on  these  doctrines,  and  they  believed  their  strength  was  due  to 
them.  To  take  away  the  doctrines  and  usages  of  Baptist  faith, 
would  be  to  remove  the  cornerstones  of  the  foundation  and  let  the 
entire  building  fall.  They  could  not  conceive  of  the  replacement 
of  other  stones  just  as  sound  and  adequate.  No  religious  body  has 
ever  been  known  to  permit  a  deliberate  replacement  of  old  with  new 
doctrines  in  the  foundation  of  their  faith  and  life.  It  would  have 
been  hard  to  convince  a  Baptist  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  that  any  other  system  of  doctrine  than  Calvinism 
would  do,  though  the  early  Baptists  of  New  England  and  the  Sepa- 
rates of  Virginia  were  at  first  Armenian.  Their  complete  change 
of  front  from  Armenianism  to  Calvinism  is  attributed  to  their  con- 
flict with  the  Methodists,  who  were  essentially  Armenian.  Their 
antagonists  in  New  England,  the  Congregationalists,  were  Calvin- 
ists.  That  drove  them  into  the  Armenian  camp.  Their  new 
antagonists  in  the  South  and  East,  the  Methodists,  were  Armenian. 
That  drove  them  into  the  Calvinistic  camp.  The  adoption  of  the 
Philadelphia  Confession  in  1742  established  permanently  the  Cal- 
vinism of  the  Baptists. 

The  differences  between  Campbell  and  the  Baptists  existed  from 
the  very  beginning  of  the  union,  but  they  were  unobserved  or  con- 
doned for  the  sake  of  obtaining  such  a  rising  genius  as  Campbell 
as  an  adherent  and  advocate.  There  is  no  doubt  that  Campbell 
added  very  much  to  the  prestige  and  favor  of  the  Baptists  among 
the  people  during  all  the  time  of  his  relationship  with  them.  He 
was  the  ablest,  most  brilliant  and  versatile  man  they  had  during 
that  period.  All  his  influence  accrued  to  the  Baptists.  The  con- 
verts he  made  joined  their  churches.    The  victories  he  won  in 

105 


zo6 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


the  debates  with  John  Walker,  W.  L.  Maccalla,  and  Robert  Owen, 
were  set  down  to  the  Baptists.  A  Baptist  who  had  no  sympathy 
with  Campbell's  ideas,  wrote  in  1830:  We  take  pleasure  in 
owning  him  as  the  conqueror  of  Walker  and  IMaccalla  on  baptism ; 
and  the  Christian  public  must  hail  with  gratulation,  the  complete 
discomfiture  of  the  atheist  Owen." ' 

I.  The  chief  points  of  agreement." 

^Ir.  Campbell  and  the  Baptists  were  agreed  on  the  main  doctrines 
of  Christian  faith,  which  they  held  in  common  with  all  Protes- 
tants: the  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  justification  by  faith,  the 
atonement,  the  divinity  of  Christ,  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  the  resur- 
rection, and  the  future  retribution  of  the  wicked.  They  were  of 
one  mind  on  many  secondary  doctrines  and  usages:  the  form  of 
baptism,  the  proper  subject  of  baptism,  the  elements  of  Christian 
worship,  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  day,  the  organization  of  the 
local  congregation,  and  the  ordination  of  the  ministry.  There 
were  far  more  points  of  agreement  than  of  difference. 

II.  The  chief  points  of  disagreement. 

These  were  of  two  sorts,  doctrinal  and  practical.  Taking  them 
up,  as  far  as  possible,  in  the  order  of  their  historical  emergence,  let 
us  treat 

I.    Differences  in  doctrine  and  principle, 
(i)    The  relation  of  the  covenants. 

Differences  developed  on  this  subject  earlier  than  on  any  other. 
The  controversy  was  precipitated  in  18 16  by  the  delivery  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Law.'  Campbell  taught  that  the  Old  Testament  or 
Covenant  had  been  abrogated  by  Christ  when  he  instituted  the  New 
Covenant.  The  Old  Covenant  was  a  covenant  of  w^orks,  and  was 
for  Jews;  the  New  Covenant  is  a  covenant  of  faith  founded  on 
promises,  and  is  for  the  Christian.  Hence  the  laws  and  require- 
ments of  the  Old  Covenant  are  not  binding  upon  Christians.  The 
abrogation  of  the  Old  Covenant  carried  with  it  the  law  of  feasts, 
fasts,  sabbaths,  new  moons,  circumcision,  sacrifices,  the  decalogue, 
in  a  word,  the  entire  legislation  under  the  Old  Covenant.  He  did 
not  mean  by  this  that  the  Old  Testament,  which  contains  the  written 
record  and  memorials  of  the  Old  Covenant,  was  of  no  value  to  the 
Christian,  or  that  it  should  not  be  read,  or  that  it  contained  no 


^Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  133;   1830,  Extra  21. 

^^Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  135. 

^Millennial  Harbinger,  1846,  493;  Memoirs,  I.  471. 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


107 


divine  elements.  He  simply  denied  the  authority  of  it  for  the  Chris- 
tian. He  believed  its  essential  parts  had  been  re-enacted  in  the  New 
Covenant,  and  by  so  much  and  only  thus,  was  it  binding.^ 

On  the  contrary,  the  Baptists  taught  the  equal  authority  of  both 
Old  and  New  Covenants.  Robert  Semple  voiced  Baptist  belief  in 
the  following  words :  "  Now  against  this  sentiment  I  must  beg 
leave  to  enter  my  most  solemn  protest.  I  aver  that  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  are  essentially  the  same  as  to  obligation,  and 
stand  in  the  same  relation  to  each  other  and  to  us,  as  different  parts 
of  the  New  Testament  do  to  each  other.  Some  parts  of  the  Old 
Testament  have  been  declared  in  the  New  Testament  as  abrogated ; 
and  many  others,  being  obviously  temporary,  ceased  to  be  obliga- 
tory, because  every  object  has  been  accomplished  for  which  they 
were  originally  given." 

The  issue  was  fairly  joined  and  the  difference  manifest.  The 
Baptists  believed  the  Old  Testament  binding  as  a  whole;  Campbell 
believed  it  abrogated  as  a  whole.  One  of  the  recurring  charges 
against  Campbell  was  that  he  "  threw  away  the  Old  Testament." 
It  was  embodied  in  the  accusations  of  the  Tate's  Creek  Associa- 
tion. There  was  no  compromise  possible  on  the  subject.  It  is 
fair  to  observe  that  the  Baptists  as  a  whole  no  longer  hold  this 
view.  With  the  entire  world  of  scholarship  they  now  hold  more 
nearly  what  Campbell  taught  in  1812  and  1816,  and  ever  after.* 

(2)    The  design  of  baptism. 

Mr.  Campbell  regarded  the  discovery  of  the  design  of  baptism  as 
one  of  the  most  important  contributions  to  the  proper  understand- 
ing of  the  ancient  order  of  things.  Stated  in  the  language  of  Scrip- 
ture, baptism  was  "  for  the  remission  of  sins."  He  taught  that 
baptism  was  a  condition  of  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  a 
prerequisite  to  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  He  sought  to  apprehend  the  significance  erf  it  as  set  forth 
in  the  teaching  and  practice  of  the  apostles,  and  to  restore  it  to  its 
rightful  place  in  the  church  of  to-day. 

In  his  debate  with  Walker  in  1820,  he  observed  that  baptism 
was  connected  with  the  remission  of  sins  in  the  New  Testament.* 
In  the  appendix  to  the  debate  he  says :    "  Baptism  is  an  ordinance 

^Millennial  Harbinger,  1891,  9,  67,  193. 
-Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  9- 
^Memoirs,  II.  28;  Christian  Baptist,  III.  206. 
*  Memoirs,  II.  20,  36. 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


by  Avhich  we  formally  profess  Christianity."  In  his  debate  with 
]Maccalla  in  1823  he  went  farther  and  attempted  to  explain  the 
connection  by  saying  that  baptism  formally  washes  away  our  sins, 
while  the  blood  of  Christ  really  washes  them  away.  Writing  in 
January,  1828,  he  says:  ''In  my  debate  with  Mr.  ^laccalla  in 
Kentucky,  1823,  on  this  topic,  I  contended  that  it  was  a  divine 
institution  designed  for  putting  the  legitimate  subject  of  it  into 
actual  possession  of  the  remission  of  his  sins  —  that  to  every  believ- 
ing subject  it  did  formally,  and  in  fact,  convey  to  him  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins.  It  was  with  much  hesitation  I  presented  this  view  of 
the  subject  at  that  time,  because  of  its  perfect  novelty.  I  was  then 
assured  of  its  truth,  and,  I  think,  presented  sufficient  evidence  of 
its  certainty."  ^  He  wrote  in  the  same  year :  "  The  first  three 
thousand  persons  that  were  immersed  after  the  ascension  of  Christ 
into  heaven,  were  immersed  for  the  remission  of  their  sins  with 
the  promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  am  bold,  therefore,  to  affirm, 
that  every  one  of  them  who,  in  the  belief  of  what  the  apostle  spoke, 
was  immersed,  did,  in  the  very  instant  in  which  he  was  put  under 
the  water,  receive  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins,  and  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit." ' 

He  is  conscious  here  that  he  is  making  an  extreme  statement  of 
the  matter.  In  all  of  his  writing  on  the  subject  he  has  before  him 
the  possibility  of  being  charged  with  the  doctrine  of  baptismal 
regeneration.  He  seems  in  a  strait  in  his  endeavor  to  be  true 
to  New  Testament  teaching,  and  escape  baptismal  regeneration.* 
He  does  not  always  escape  both  the  Scylla  and  Charybdis.  While 
his  language  at  times  verges  upon  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regen- 
eration, yet  he  would  be  the  first  to  repudiate  the  doctrine.  He  had 
a  difficult  task,  to  state  the  essentiaHty  or  necessity  of  baptism  and 
avoid  attributing  to  it  a  magical  effect.  In  response  to  a  critic  he 
says :  I  have  carefully  considered  all  that  you  have  advanced 
and  many  other  communications  to  the  same  effect;  and  instead  of 
weakening  my  assurance  that  the  act  by  w^hich  we  put  on  Christ, 
the  act  by  which  we  come  to  Christ,  the  act  by  which  we  confess 
Christ,  the  act  by  which  we  become  disciples  of  Christ,  the  act  by 
which  we  come  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  the  act  by  which  we 
are  married  to  Christ,  the  act  by  which  we  receive  the  pardon  of 

^Christian  Baptist,  V.  121. 
^Christian  Baptist,  V.  161. 
^  Christian  Baptist,  V.  212. 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


109 


our  past  sins,  the  act  by  which  we  come  into  the  actual  enjoyment 
of  the  salvation  of  Christ  in  this  present  life  —  is  the  act  of  immer- 
sion into  the  name  of  Christ ;  which  act  presupposes  faith  in  him."  ^ 
Campbell  meant  to  affirm  no  more  than  the  Scriptures  affirm 
when  they  say :  "  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved  " ; 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can  not 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  " ;  '*  Repent  ye,  and  be  baptized 
ever}'  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of 
your  sins ;  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit " ;  For 
by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body  ;  "  As  many  as 
have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have  put  on  Christ " ;  The  like 
figure  whereunto  even  baptism  doth  also  now  save  us  " ;  Arise 
and  be  baptized,  and  wash  away  thy  sins."  If  he  affirmed  in  his  own 
interpretation  of  these  declarations  more  or  less  than  they  teach, 
he  did  not  intend  it.  He  had  no  dogma  to  prove,  His  only  purpose 
seems  to  have  been  to  find  out  the  teachings  of  the  Scriptures. 
There  was  one  constant  insistence  in  all  of  his  references  to  the 
matter,  that  baptism  is  connected  in  some  sense  with  the  remission 
of  sins. 

This  is  clear  from  a  study  of  the  entire  history  of  the  contro- 
versy, that  the  Reformers  laid  an  emphasis  upon  baptism  and  gave 
it  a  significance  not  given  it  by  any  other  people.  Persons  who 
made  a  confession  of  their  faith  in  Christ  were  at  once  told  to  get 
ready  for  baptism  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  That  was  the 
culminating  act  of  submission  to  Jesus,  the  final  step  into  the  king- 
dom. Doubtless,  in  the  minds  of  advocates  less  discriminating  in 
their  thought  and  speech  than  Campbell,  baptism  became  a  saving 
ordinance.  Not  so  in  Campbell's  mind.  We  may  attribute  to  him 
before  1830,  the  view  enunciated  in  the  debate  with  Rice  in  1842 : 
"  I  do  not  make  baptism  absolutely  essential  to  salvation  in  any 
case." ' 

The  Baptists,  however,  understood  him  to  teach :  That  there 
is  no  promise  of  salvation  without  baptism  " :  "  That  baptism  pro- 
cures the  remission  of  sins  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  " ;  "  That 
in  baptism  sins  are  actually  washed  away."  It  need  not  be  surpris- 
ing that  Campbell's  position  was  misstated  in  the  foregoing  charges. 
They  were  made  under  the  heat  of  controversy,  and  with  the  express 
purpose  of  showing  him  in  error.    Taking  this  fact  into  account 

^  Christian  Baptist.  VII.  165 ;  Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  82. 
'Debate  with  N.  T.  Rice,  519. 


no 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


along  with  two  others,  namely,  that  it  is  not  easy  to  use  the  lan- 
guage of  Scripture  concerning  baptism  in  its  first  literal  import 
without  conveying  the  thought,  and  that  the  teaching  of  Campbell 
was  frequently  gathered  from  newly  made  advocates,  one  has  suffi- 
cient possibilities  for  misunderstanding.  Campbell  considered  bap- 
tism always  in  connection  with  its  antecedents,  faith  and  repen- 
tance.   The  New  Testament  knows  of  no  separation. 

In  the  famous  "Extra  No.  i,"  printed  in  The  Millennial  Har- 
binger of  1830,  he  makes  the  most  systematic  and  elaborate  exposi- 
tion of  his  views  of  the  design  of  baptism.  He  there  draws  a  dis- 
tinction between  a  change  of  heart  and  a  change  of  state.  Faith 
and  repentance  designate  the  change  of  heart,  baptism  the  change  of 
state.  The  terms  pardon,  justification,  sanctification,  reconcilia- 
tion, adoption,  and  salvation,  as  applied  to  Christians  in  the  New 
Testament,  represent  a  state,  not  a  character.  He  says :  "  A  change 
of  heart,  though  it  necessarily  precedes,  is  in  no  case  equivalent  to, 
and  never  to  be  identified  with  a  change  of  state." '  He  likens  the 
change  to  the  marriage  relation.  Two  persons,  a  man  and  a  woman, 
may  meet  and  be  perfectly  indifferent  if  not  hostile  to  each  other. 
A  change  of  views  with  respect  to  each  other  takes  place.  This 
precedes  a  change  of  heart,  if  they  eventually  fall  in  love.  Their 
state  is  not  changed  until  the  marriage  ceremony  is  performed. 
Love  is  expressive  of  a  change  of  heart,  marriage  of  a  change  of 
state.  Love  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  change  of  state,  though  it 
precedes  it.  He  goes  still  further  and  says  that  a  change  of  state 
does  not  necessarily  follow  the  change  of  heart.  "  So  in  religion 
a  man  may  change  his  views  of  Jesus  and  his  heart  may  also  be 
changed  towards  him;  but  unless  a  change  of  state  ensues  he  is 
still  unpardoned,  unjustified,  unadopted,  and  lost  to  all  Christian 
life  and  enjoyment."  "  Some  act,  then,  constitutional,  by  stipula- 
tion proposed,  sensible  and  manifest,  must  be  performed  by  one 
or  both  the  parties  before  such  a  change  (of  state)  can  be  accom- 
plished." 

This  is  what  is  meant  by  "  the  obedience  of  faith."  The  gospel 
contains  a  command,  which  must  be  obeyed.  There  can  be  no 
obedience  without  a  command.  "  That  it  is  not  faith,  but  an  act 
resulting  from  faith  which  changes  our  state,"  he  goes  on  to  show. 
The  act  which  changes  the  state  is  immersion.  He  calls  it  a  "  dis- 
cipling  institution  "  from  the  command,  "  Go  ye  therefore  and  make 

^  Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  Extra  10. 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


1 1  i 


disciples  of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the 
Father,"  etc.  He  says  further :  "  One  reason  why  we  should  arrest 
the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  substitution  of  the  terms  convert 
and  conversion,  for  immerse  and  immersion  in  the  apostolic  dis- 
courses and  in  the  sacred  writings,  is  not  so  much  for  the  purpose  of 
proving  that  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  or  a  change  of  state,  is  neces- 
sarily connected  with  that  act  of  faith  called  '  Christian  immersion.' 
as  it  is  to  fix  the  minds  of  biblical  students  upon  a  very  important 
fact,  viz.,  that  immersion  is  the  converting  act;  or,  that  no  person 
is  discipled  to  Christ  until  he  is  immersed."  Immersion  and 
regeneration  are  two  Bible  names  for  the  same  act,  contemplated 
in  two  different  points  of  view."  This  proposition  he  deduced  from, 
the  passage,  Titus,  3  15 :  God  hath  saved  us  by  the  washing  of 
regeneration  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  By  an  examina- 
tion of  his  Extra  Xo.  2  "  {Millennial  Harbinger,  1831),  on  baptism, 
it  is  clear  that  he  did  not  mean  the  same  thing  by  regeneration  that 
his  critics  meant.  He  used  it  in  what  he  thought  was  its  New  Tes- 
tament sense.  What  is  popularly  called  regeneration  he  thought 
was  more  correctly  expressed  in  Scripture  as,  "  The  renewing  of  the 
Spirit"  (Christian  Baptist,  11.  170).  The  whole  controversy  arose 
out  of  a  change  in  the  meaning  of  terms  used.  He  distinguished 
between  being  born  of  water  and  being  born  of  the  Spirit.  Regen- 
eration is  synonymous  with  the  former,  renewing  of  the  Spirit 
with  the  latter.  Regeneration  is  the  preparatory  cleansing  process, 
the  putting  off  of  the  old  man,  in  readiness  for  the  creation  of  the 
new  man  by  the  Spirit.  Regeneration  or  baptism  makes  one  fit  for 
the  kingdom  or  the  school  of  Christ.  "  But  the  renewal  of  the 
Spirit  is  the  entire  purification  of  the  heart,  the  decoration  of  the 
character,  the  fitting  of  the  separated  for  an  inheritance  among 
the  sanctified."  The  former,  regeneration,  concerns  entrance  into 
the  present  kingdom.  It  is  the  birth,  not  the  growth.  "  Tis  educa- 
tion and  not  birth  that  makes  the  Christian ;  but  yet  unless  a  person 
is  born  he  can  not  be  educated ;  unless  he  enter  the  kingdom  of 
Jesus  he  cannot  enjoy  the  rights  of  a  citizen."  In  thus  defining 
regeneration  he  deprived  it  of  its  current  meaning.  Hence  also  his 
understanding  of  the  words  convert "  and  "  conversion,"  was 
different  from  the  accepted  meaning.  Likening  conversion  to  a  race 
he  said:  "Conversion  is  just  the  entrance  or  starting  point  in  the 
race."  He  used  the  term  kingdom  of  God  "  in  a  sense  not  com- 
mon to  the  speech  of  the  day.    It  meant  to  him  simply  the  present, 


112 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


earthly  society  of  Christians.  He  distinguished  this  from  the 
future,  everlasting  kingdom.  They  were,  in  his  thinking,  two  dif- 
ferent kingdoms.  He  was  seriously  at  fault  in  changing  the  mean- 
ing and  use  of  terms  after  the  controversy  had  begun. 

He  maintained  that  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  the 
apostles  to  speak  to  their  converts  as  pardoned,  justified,  sanctified, 
saved,  had  there  not  been  some  act,  such  as  immersion,  agreed  on 
all  hands,  to  be  the  medium  of  remission  and  the  act  of  conversion 
and  regeneration."  "  They  taught  all  the  disciples  to  consider  not 
only  themselves  as  saved  persons,  but  all  whom  they  saw,  or  knew 
to  be  immersed  into  the  Lord  Jesus."  He  closed  the  "  Extra  on 
Remission "  by  submitting  interpretations  of  the  church  fathers 
and  the  leading  modern  denominational  commentators  in  favor  of 
his  view  that  "  immersion  is  the  regeneration  and  remission  of  sins 
spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament."  He  says  that  he  exhibited  the 
doctrine  in  the  Maccalla  debate,  without  feeHng  its  great  impor- 
tance and  without  beginning  to  practice  upon  its  tendencies  for 
some  time  afterwards."  He  dwells  upon  its  value  for  the  religious 
life.  "  A  change  of  state  so  great,  so  sensible,  so  complete,  so  sud- 
den, operates  more  like  the  ancient  cures  than  the  cold,  dark, 
and  tedious  mental  regenerations  of  the  philosophizing  theologians. 
The  propositions  now  proved  and  illustrated,  must  convince  all, 
that  there  is  some  connection  between  immersion  and  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins."  "  What  that  connection  is  may  be  disputed  by  some, 
but  that  such  a  connection  exists,  none  can  dispute  who  acknowl- 
edges the  New  Testament  to  contain  a  divine  communication  to 
man."  "  Nothing  remains,  but  that  it  be  considered,  what  it  is  in 
truth,  the  accompanying  sign  of  an  accompanying  remission;  the 
sign  and  the  seal,  or  the  means  and  the  seal  of  remission  then 
granted  through  water,  connected  with  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  divine 
appointment,  and  through  our  faith  in  it." 

One  must  confess  a  difficulty  in  arriving  at  a  just  construction 
of  Campbell's  doctrine  of  baptism.  Taking  one  set  of  expressions 
or  passages  from  his  writings,  the  conclusion  would  be  inevitable 
that  he  taught  a  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration  —  that  no  one 
was  safe  or  could  be  saved  without  it,  no  matter  what  his  Christian 
life  or  experiences  had  been.  But  this  conclusion  is  set  aside  by 
his  idea  of  the  difference  between  the  Christian  state  and  the  Chris- 
tian character,  and  the  present  and  future  kingdoms  of  God.  From 
another  set  of  passages  one  would  conclude  that  he  differed  in  no 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


essential  respect  from  the  Baptist  doctrine,  namely,  that  baptism  is 
a  sign  or  symbolic  figure  of  an  inner  spiritual  transformation.  Such 
expressions  as  "  sign,"  "  seal,"  "  medium,"  etc.,  are  used  with 
reference  to  it.  But  that  does  not  account  for  the  bitter  opposition 
of  Baptists  to  his  teaching,  and  the  conviction  in  Campbell's  own 
mind  that  he  differed  from  their  teaching.  The  difference  was 
really  not  so  great  as  each  tried  to  make  out.  There  are  indica- 
tions that  Campbell  was  not  sure  of  his  own  bearings  at  every  stage. 
He  makes  no  concealment  of  the  fact  that  he  gradually  came  to  his 
view  of  it,  and  so  must  have  been  less  certain  of  his  ground  at 
one  stage  than  at  another.  The  progress  in  his  thinking,  or  rather 
the  variation  in  his  expression  of  it,  is  more  or  less  marked.  Bap- 
tism is  not  the  same  to  him  at  one  time  that  it  is  at  another ;  some- 
times it  means  more,  sometimes  less.  His  difficulty  lay  in  his 
attempt  to  rationalize  the  doctrine  of  the  phrase,  "  for  the  remission 
of  sins  "  —  to  interpret  in  other  language  that  which  the  Scrip- 
tures do  not  interpret. 

The  following  conclusions  are  offered  as  a  fair  statement  of  his 
doctrine  of  baptism : 

1.  The  remission  of  sins  (in  the  New  Testament  teaching) 
synchronizes  with  the  act  of  baptism. 

2.  Baptism  is  an  act  of  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  repentance 
toward  God,  expressed  in  an  immersion  in  water.  In  other  words, 
faith  and  repentance  are  so  closely  identified  with  the  act  of  bap- 
tism, that  baptism  becomes  a  synonym  for  regeneration.  For  this 
reason,  that  the  act  of  baptism  received  its  meaning  from  the  spirit- 
ual exercise  of  faith  and  repentance  going  before  it,  he  strenuously 
opposed  any  delay  in  the  administration  of  the  act  after  the  confes- 
sion of  one's  faith  publicly. 

3.  Its  design  is,  therefore,  to  serve  as  the  visible  meeting  place 
of  God  and  the  penitent  soul,  in  which  the  sinner  witnesses  his 
faith  in  and  acceptance  of  Christ,  and  God  grants  the  forgiveness 
of  sins  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  thought  of  God  as 
really  acting  on  behalf  of  the  sinner  at  that  time.  Baptism  is  a 
visible  token  of  a  covenant  relation,  in  which  God  agrees  to  remit 
the  sins  of  him  who  comes  in  the  spirit  of  penitence.^ 

4.  Its  religious  value  is  its  chief  value  to  men.  This  value 
lies  in  its  authoritative  declaration  to  the  sinner  that  he  is  forgiven, 
is  free  from  condemnation,  and  is  an  heir  of  eternal  life.   It  declares 

^Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  Extra  13,  45- 


114 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


to  the  world  that  such  a  one  is  now  a  member  of  the  company  of  the 
children  of  God.  It  is  the  final  step  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  He 
says :  "  At  what  instant  of  time  do  we  enter  this  kingdom,  or  come 
under  the  reign  of  God,  and  by  what  means  ?  I  say  the  moment  we 
vow  allegiance  to  the  King  in  the  constituted  way  —  the  moment 
we  are  naturalized  —  the  moment  we  are  born  of  water  and  of  the 
Spirit  —  the  moment  we  put  on  Christ  —  the  instant  we  are  con- 
verted and  not  before." ' 

Taking  into  account  both  his  affirmations  and  denials  on  the 
subject,  we  must  conclude  as  follows : 

(1)  He  did  not  teach  the  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration; 
that  is,  that  there  is  any  efficacy  in  the  water  or  the  act  alone. 
Baptism  must  always  be  preceded  by  faith  and  repentance. 

(2)  He  did  not  teach  that  baptism  was  absolutely  necessary 
to  salvation.  It  is  not  essential  or  efficacious  in  the  same  sense  as 
faith  or  repentance. 

(3)  Its  significance  and  value  is  chiefly  for  man.  Man  needs 
it,  not  God.  It  declared  or  mediated  to  man  the  act  of  divine  for- 
giveness. 

(4)  He  did  not  teach  that  the  act  of  baptism  is  meritorious 
morally  or  spiritually.  It  is  instrumental,  mediatorial.  The  be- 
liever looks  beyond  it.  It  is  symbolic.  It  is  not  an  end  in  itself.  To 
stop  with  it,  is  to  defeat  its  purpose. 

(5)  It  is  not  an  act  of  the  body,  but  of  the  spirit,  in  obedience. 
He  says  (Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  Extra  19):  "There  are  no 
acts  of  worship,  or  of  religion  ordained  by  Jesus  Christ,  that  are 
at  all  to  be  regarded  as  outward  or  external  bodily  acts."  "  But  the 
spirit  of  man  can  not  act  at  all  without  the  body ;  it  can  not  think, 
if  the  brain  be  not  exercised;  it  can  not  speak,  unless  the  tongue 
be  moved ;  it  can  not  feel,  but  by  the  nerves ;  it  can  not  move,  but 
by  the  organs  of  the  body.  How  unreasonable,  then,  to  separate, 
or  to  regard  human  action  in  reference  to  the  particular  organ 
which  operates.  Immersion  is  as  spiritual  an  act,  when  proceeding 
from  faith  in  God's  promises,  as  any  act  in  which  a  person  is 
either  active  or  passive.  Faith  is  as  much  a  bodily  act  as  immersion. 
No  man  without  the  exercise  of  his  senses  can  believe  anything. 
'  Faith  comes  by  hearing,'  says  a  master  in  Israel." 

(6)  Baptism  is  for  the  remission  of  sins  in  the  sense  that  in 
baptism,  or  at  the  time  of  baptism,  the  subject  of  it  appropriates 

^Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  136. 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


the  fact,  and  from  that  time  onward,  acts  upon  the  knowledge  and 
assurance  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins.' 

(7)  Baptism  changes  the  state  of  the  beHever.  It  does  not 
change  the  moral  or  spiritual  character  of  the  believer,  only  as  the 
consciousness  of  being  in  a  new  state  or  relationship  to  God  and 
men,  operates  to  confirm  his  purpose  in  it.  State  reacts  upon  char- 
acter ;  the  marriage  state  upon  devotion  to  marital  duties.  Baptism 
introduces  one  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  a  state  or  society.  It 
creates  the  consciousness  of  being  a  m.ember  of  a  new  order  of 
things.^ 

The  writer  appreciates  the  difficulty  of  the  task  of  making  a 
consistent  and  harmonious  statement  of  the  doctrine  from  such 
diverse  materials.  It  was  Campbell's  conviction  that  baptism  had 
lost  the  place  and  significance  it  held  in  apostolic  times.  The  form 
of  it  had  been  changed  from  immersion  to  affusion.  This  entailed 
the  loss  of  a  beautiful  and  impressive  symbol.  The  proper  subject 
for  it  was  no  longer  confined  to  the  penitent  believer.  Thus  it  lost 
its  purpose  and  import.  If  the  churches  were  generally  agreed  to 
or  oblivious  of  these  losses,  that  was  nothing  against  his  duty  or 
determination  to  restore  baptism  to  its  apostolic  place.  Neither 
was  he  deterred  from  his  purpose  by  the  consideration  that  all  the 
value  of  it  had  been  enjoyed  without  it,  by  Quakers  and  others. 
His  response  would  be  that  the  Xew  Testament  made  no  provision 
for  a  perversion  of  the  appointments  of  the  Gospel,  much  less  antici- 
pated the  nature  of  them.  That  would  be  to  invite  them.  Christ 
and  his  apostles  provided  for  a  perpetual  normal  order.  \\'hat 
readjustments  might  be  made  necessary,  they  did  not  provide  for. 
In  any  event,  the  purpose  of  God  to  save  men  would  not  be 
defeated. 

His  methods  of  interpretation  were  those  of  the  biblical  theo- 
logian. In  many  ways  he  anticipated  the  modem  science  of  '*  Biblical 
Theology."  He  says :  The  first  and  all-important  inquirv^  with  me, 
in  reading  the  oracles  of  God,  has  long  been,  is  now,  and,  I  presume, 
while  I  live,  will  be,  what  were  the  exact  ideas  that  the  writers  of 
the  New  Testament  associated  with  the  terms  which  they  used." 
His  limitations  and  interested  purposes  very  frequently  prevented  a 
consistent  application  of  his  principles.' 

^Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  498;   Christian  Baptist,  VI.  157,  158. 
'Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  Extra  8,  9;   1830,  136. 
'  Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  Extra  25. 


ii6 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


We  need  but  place  alongside  of  this  view  of  baptism,  that  of  the 
Baptists,  to  understand  the  opposition  it  would  immediately  awaken. 
"  Baptism  is  a  sign,  or  declaration  of  forgiveness  actually  received 
and  enjoyed  by  faith  in  Christ";  "a  sign  of  what  has  already 
taken  place"  (Jeter,  249).  The  Reformers  baptized  a  believer  to 
make  (completely  make)  him  a  Christian;  the  Baptists,  because 
he  is  a  Christian.  To  the  Reformers  it  was  a  rite  of  initiation 
into  the  church;  to  the  Baptists,  it  was  a  rite  of  recognition  of 
membership  in  the  spiritual,  invisible  church  of  Christ.  The  Re- 
formers taught  that  baptism  formally  washes  away  sins;  the  Bap- 
tists, that  it  figuratively  washes  away  sins.^  The  Reformers  made 
no  distinction  in  practice  between  the  visible  and  invisible  church, 
as  the  Baptists  did.  They  identified  the  kingdom  of  God  with 
the  local  congregation;  the  conditions  of  entrance  into  the  former 
were  made  the  conditions  of  entrance  into  the  latter. 

(3)  The  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  conversion  and 
regeneration.' 

The  doctrine  of  the  Baptists  of  that  day,  and  indeed  of  all 
Calvinistic  bodies,  was,  that  the  soul  of  the  unbeliever  is  "  dead 
in  trespasses  and  in  sins  " ;  that  he  is  utterly  powerless  to  believe 
or  help  himself  out  of  his  condition ;  that  the  Holy  Spirit  comes  in 
response  to  prayer  and  communicates  spiritual  life,  thus  regenerat- 
ing the  soul,  and  enabling  him  to  turn  to  God  in  repentance  and 
to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

In  opposition  to  this,  Campbell  taught,  that  though  the  sinner  is 
dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sins,  he  has  it  in  his  power  to  believe  and 
help  himself ;  that  he  need  but  act  upon  the  means  divinely  put  at 
his  service  in  the  Scriptures  to  become  a  new  creature;  that  the 
Word  of  God  is  such  a  means  for  the  creation  of  faith  and  the 
regeneration  of  the  soul;  that  the  Holy  Spirit  operates  through 
the  word,  not  by  direct  impact  upon  the  soul  of  the  unbeliever ;  that 
the  Spirit  is  not  given  to  the  sinner  but  only  to  those  who  have 
believed,  repented  and  been  baptized. 

(a)  Concerning  the  origin  of  faith,  he  taught  that  it  was  the 
result  of  testimony.  In  exercising  faith  in  the  religious  sense,  men 
are  but  using  a  faculty  or  power  of  the  mind  which  they  exercise  in 

^Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  79. 
Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  287;  Christian  Baptist,  V.  14S,  193,  217;  H- 
53;  Life  of  Smith,  146,  161,  216,  287,  305,  4^7,  377,  395- 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


117 


Other  things.  "  The  fact  beheved  always  operates  according  to  its 
own  nature."  "  Evidence  alone  produces  faith,  or  testimony  is  all 
that  is  necessary  to  faith."  "  To  exhort  men  to  believe,  or  to  try 
to  scare  them  into  faith,  by  loud  vociferations,  or  to  cry  them  into 
faith  by  effusions  of  natural  or  mechanical  tears,  without  submit- 
ting evidence,  is  as  absurd  as  to  try  to  build  a  house  or  plant  a 
tree  in  a  cloud."  Faith  abstracted  from  facts,  produces  no  sub- 
stantial, no  real  effect."  "  A  man  might  as  reasonably  expect  to 
support  animal  life  by  the  simple  act  of  chewing  as  to  be  saved  by 
the  mere  act  of  believing.  It  is  not  a  man's  eating  that  keeps  him 
alive,  but  what  he  does  eat;  so  it  is  not  a  man's  believing  that 
saves  his  soul,  but  what  he  does  believe."  "  No  person  can  help 
believing,  when  the  evidence  of  truth  arrests  his  attention,  and 
without  evidence  it  is  as  impossible  to  believe  as  to  bring  some- 
thing out  of  nothing."  "  The  term  faith  is  used  in  the  Bible  in  the 
commonly  received  sense  of  mankind,  and  the  faith  which  we  have 
in  the  testimony  of  God  differs  from  that  we  have  in  the  testimony 
of  men  in  this  one  respect  only,  that  as  men  may  be  deceived  and 
may  deceive  others,  so  the  confidence  we  repose  in  their  testimony 
in  some  instances  may  be  limited ;  but  as  God  cannot  be  deceived 
himself  neither  can  He  deceive  others,  so  the  confidence  we  have  in 
His  testimony  is  superior  to  that  we  repose  in  the  testimony  of 
men;  and  as  the  word  comes  to  us  in  demonstration  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  or  attested  unto  us  by  the  supernatural  gifts  which  accom- 
panied the  testimony  of  the  original  witnesses,  so  it  affords  the 
highest  possible  evidence,  and  therefore  produces  the  greatest 
confidence."  ^ 

Hence  in  his  view  faith  preceded  regeneration  or  was  rather 
a  means  to  it  and  was  included  in  the  process.  He  says :  "  The 
popular  belief  of  a  regeneration  previous  to  faith,  or  a  knowledge 
of  the  Gospel,  is  replete  with  mischief."  "  A  devout  preacher 
told  me,  not  long  since,  that  he  was  regenerated  about  three  years 
before  he  believed  in  Christ.  He  considered  himself  as  born  again 
by  a  physical  energy  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  a  dead  man  would  be 
raised  to  life  by  the  mighty  powers  of  the  Eternal  Spirit.  Upon 
his  own  hypothesis,  he  was  three  years  a  godly  unbeliever;  he  was 
pleasing  and  acceptable  to  God  '  without  faith  '  and  if  he  had  died 

^Christian  Baptist,  III.  277;  II.  14;  Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  355; 
Christian  Baptist,  L  216. 


ii8 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


during  the  three  years,  he  would  have  been  saved,  though  he 
beheved  not  the  gospel." '  Such  a  thing  was  inconceivable  if  not 
ridiculous  to  Campbell.  "  The  purification  of  our  hearts,  the  refine- 
ment of  our  feelings,  the  elevation  of  our  character,  the  reformation 
of  our  lives,  are  the  inseparable  fruits  of  the  belief  of  the  one  fact 
(Jesus  is  Christ)  upon  the  evidence  contained  in  the  faithful 
record." 

(b)  Concerning  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  conversion,  he 
taught  that  the  Spirit  revealed  the  word  of  truth  and  then  attested 
it  by  signs  and  wonders.  "  The  truth  to  be  believed  could  never 
have  been  known  but  by  the  revelation  of  the  Spirit;  that  though 
it  had  been  pronounced  in  the  most  excellent  language,  yet  it  could 
not  have  been  believed  with  certainty  but  by  the  miracles  which 
w^ere  offered  in  attestation  of  it."  ^  The  work  the  Spirit  does  in 
revealing  accounts  for  its  being  called  the  "  Spirit  of  Wisdom  " ; 
that  which  it  does  in  attesting,  accounts  for  its  being  called  the 
"  Spirit  of  Power."  Both  of  these  exercises  of  the  Spirit  were  con- 
fined to  the  apostolic  age  in  the  establishment  of  Christianity. 
Hence  revelations  and  miracles  have  ceased.  But  the  work  the 
Spirit  does  in  the  sanctification  of  souls,  on  account  of  which  it  is 
called  the  "  Spirit  of  Holiness  or  Goodness,"  continues  perpetually 
in  the  church.  In  the  series  of  essays  in  the  Christian  Baptist  on 
"  The  Holy  Spirit,"  he  attributes  the  provision  of  the  means  of 
salvation  to  the  Spirit,  and  believes  that  its  miraculous  work  ceased 
with  that.  This  preparatory  work  of  the  Spirit  was  all-important. 
So  far  both  Baptists  and  Reformers  were  agreed.  They  parted 
company  on  the  doctrine  of  the  direct,  irresistible,  and  physical 
influence  of  the  Spirit  upon  the  soul  of  the  sinner.  They  joined 
company  again  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Spirit's  work  in  the 
Christian.' 

The  doctrine  that  a  man  is  totally  depraved  and  can  not  turn  to 
a  life  of  righteousness  until  God  is  pleased  to  send  his  Spirit  to 
quicken  him,  seemed  to  Campbell  not  only  untrue  but  immoral  in 
its  influence.  It  dishonored  the  word  of  that  Spirit  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  discouraged  the  sinner.  He  taught  that  the  word  of  truth  in 
Scripture  is  the  regenerating  power  of  the  Spirit.  He  pointed  to 
abundant  illustration  of  it  in  the  writings  and  preaching  of  the 

'  Christian  Baptist,  I.  i86,  244. 
'Christian  Baptist,  11.  16. 
'  Christian  Baptist,  I.  184. 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES  119 

apostles.  He  observed  that  they  preached  the  word,  or  the  Gospel, 
or  Christ,  to  the  people,  in  contrast  with  the  preachers  he  heard, 
who  preached  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  called  upon  him  to  come  down 
and  convert  the  unbelieving.  Such  a  thing  seemed  so  blind  when 
the  Spirit  had  sent  the  word,  confirmed  by  signs  and  wonders,  the 
records  of  which  were  to  be  found  in  every  Bible.  He  says :  "  The 
present  salvation  is  not  a  change  of  body,  nor  of  perception,  mem- 
ory, judgment,  imagination,  reason;  not  of  the  intellectual  and 
animal;  but  of  the  moral  nature  of  man."  "  The  means  (of  man's 
moral  reformation)  must  be  moral  unless  we  can  think  that  physical 
causes  can  produce  moral  effects."  ^  God  uses  means  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  His  purposes  in  the  world.  In  communicating  moral 
influence  to  men,  God  uses  the  same  means  that  men  do  in  com- 
municating moral  influence  to  their  kind.  He  addresses  the  under- 
standing, the  will,  and  the  affections  through  ideas  embodied  in 
words.  "  No  other  power  than  moral  power  can  operate  on  minds ; 
and  this  power  must  always  be  clothed  in  words,  addressed  to  the 
eye  or  ear."  And  when  we  think  of  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  exerted  upon  minds  or  human  spirits,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to 
imagine  that  that  power  can  consist  in  anything  else  but  words  or 
arguments."  "  As  the  spirit  of  man  puts  forth  all  its  moral  power 
in  words  which  it  fills  with  its  ideas,  so  the  Spirit  of  God  puts 
forth  all  its  converting  and  sanctifying  power  in  the  words  which 
it  fills  with  its  ideas."  "  We  plead  that  all  the  converting  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  exhibited  in  the  Divine  Record."  The  words 
must  be  understood,  however,  to  have  their  moral  influence.* 

This  teaching  was  the  cause  of  much  opposition  from  the  Bap- 
tists, and  the  basis  of  many  charges.  He  was  accused  of  "  denying 
the  Holy  Spirit."  Sometimes  his  doctrine  was  stated  correctly  in 
charges  and  resolutions,  as  in  the  Beaver  resolutions :  That  there 
is  no  direct  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  mind  prior  to  bap- 
tism " or  in  the  charges  of  the  ]\Iayslick  church :  "  Denying  the 
direct  influence  of  the  Spirit  till  after  baptism."  *  At  other  times 
he  was  misrepresented  as  in  the  Dover  resolutions :  "  The  denial 
of  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  salvation  of  men."  ^  Re- 

^  Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  287 ;  ^Memoirs,  H.  354. 
^  iMillennial  Harbinger,  1831,  396. 
^Life  of  Smith,  330. 
*  Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  571. 
Millennial  Harbinger,  1831,  76,  535. 


I20 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


plying  to  a  communication,  he  said :  "  Did  you  ever  read  anything 
I  have  written,  denying  the  operation  or  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  conversion  of  sinners?  No,  you  did  not.  Neither  have  I 
written  anything  to  that  effect."  But  of  the  mystic  influences, 
independent  of  the  Lord,  and  the  physical  operations  upon  the 
hearts  of  men,  zvithoiit  the  word,  so  much  talked  of  and  prayed  for, 
I  learn  nothing  in  the  sacred  writings." ' 
(4)    The  use  of  confessions  of  faith.'' 

The  Baptists  generally  believed  in  the  utility,  if  not  the  neces- 
sity of  confessions  of  faith  to  preserve  soundness  and  uniformity  of 
doctrine.  They  were  a  good  thing  in  themselves  and  a  useful  supple- 
ment to  the  Scriptures.  Campbell  was  squarely  opposed  to  any  use 
of  creeds  and  confessions  of  faith.  They  were  an  evil  in  them- 
selves as  bonds  of  fellowship  or  tests  of  orthodoxy,  whether  they 
contained  true  or  false  doctrine.  He  would  not  have  indorsed  the 
use  of  a  confession  of  faith  of  his  own  making  as  a  test  of  Chris- 
tian fellowship.  To  say  that  creeds  and  confessions  of  faith  are  neces- 
sary to  make  the  truth  of  Scripture  more  plain  and  intelligible,  he 
declared,  was  to  deny  both  the  benevolence  and  wisdom  of  God. 
The  very  words  of  Scripture  are  the  best  for  the  expression  of  the 
truths  of  Scripture.  To  maintain  that  creeds  are  essential  to  the 
unity  of  the  church,  is  to  treat  the  Scriptures  as  imperfect  or  inade- 
quate. There  was  unity  in  the  apostolic  churches  without  creeds. 
"  Every  human  creed  is  based  upon  the  inadequacy  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures." 

It  was  not  easy  for  the  Baptists  to  come  to  this  point  of  view. 
They  had  usually  embodied  their  doctrines  in  confessions  of  faith. 
A  formula  of  faith  lay  at  the  basis  of  the  union  between  Separates 
and  Regulars.  It  looked  like  a  dissolution  of  faith  to  abandon  their 
confessions.  There  was  nothing  left  to  keep  out  the  Unitarian, 
Antinomian,  and  Armenian.  The  church  must  have  some  statement 
of  doctrinal  belief  on  the  fundamental  points,  to  bar  out  heretics. 
The  rejection  of  creeds  and  confessions  of  faith  by  the  Reformers 
was  the  occasion  of  many  complaints  against  them,  embodied  in 
formal  charges  by  churches  and  associations.  This  was  the  one 
question  frequently  present  in  local  church  divisions.  Generally, 

^  Christian  Baptist,  VII.  282. 

'Christian  Baptist,  II.  229,  241,  265,  175,  198;  IV.  201;  Millennial  Har- 
binger, 1830,  299,  339. 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


121 


however,  it  was  complicated  with  other  questions  of  doctrine  or 
principle. 

2.    Differences  in  practice. 

(i)    Method  of  receiving  persons  into  the  church. 

The  method  of  the  Regular  Baptist  churches,  consecrated  by 
long  usage,  was  to  require  of  the  candidate  the  relation  of  an  expe- 
rience of  his  conversion,  before  the  officers  of  the  church,  or  before 
the  entire  assembled  congregation.  If  the  experience  gave  evidence 
of  a  genuine  conversion,  the  person  was  accepted  for  church  member- 
ship and  baptism  by  a  vote  of  the  examiners.  The  Reformers,  on  the 
other  hand,  required  merely  a  public  confession  from  the  candidate, 
that  he  believed  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  This  was 
followed  immediately,  or  very  soon,  by  baptism  and  the  hand  of 
fellowship.  This  they  believed  to  be  the  apostolic  method  of  pro- 
cedure. Their  opposition  to  the  relation  of  an  experience  was  based 
upon  the  principle  that  nothing  should  be  taught  or  required  as  a 
condition  of  membership  in  the  church,  "  for  which  there  can  not  be 
expressly  produced,  a  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord '  either  in  express 
terms  or  by  approved  precedent."  The  Baptist  practice  seemed  to 
them  lacking  in  both.  Then,  too,  they  thought  it  conduced  to 
insincerity  and  by  no  means  preserved  the  church  from  designing 
persons,  who  could  fabricate  an  experience  that  would  deceive  the 
very  elect. 

The  Reformers  did  not  object  to  an  experience,  or  its  relation, 
in  the  proper  place,  but  they  did  object  to  the  use  made  of  it.  They 
greatly  suspected  the  ordinary  experience  of  conversion,  as  growing 
out  of,  and  framed  to  harmonize  with,  the  doctrine  of  the  direct, 
mystical,  and  physical  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  They  did  not 
believe  in  this  sort  of  influence  or  operation.  But  to  determine  the 
genuineness  of  such  an  influence  in  every  case,  the  examination  was 
made  by  the  Baptists  into  the  personal  experience  of  the  candidate. 
It  was  the  indisputable  mark  of  a  genuine  conversion.  The  candi- 
date was  led  to  look  for  signs  of  a  providential  nature  in  his  own 
daily  life.  The  most  commonplace  incidents  or  accidents  were  inter- 
preted as  evidences  of  the  divine  influence.  The  feelings,  however, 
were  the  surest  and  commonest  source  of  evidence.  A  kind  of 
model  of  genuine  Christian  experience  had  grown  up,  to  which 
all  were  expected  to  conform. 

In  opposition  to  this,  Campbell  sought  the  evidences  of  conver- 


122 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


sion  in  the  person's  obedience  to  the  will  of  the  Lord,  and  in  a  life 
conformed  to  His/  He  said,  after  relating  his  experience  to  John 
Smith :  "  I  have  never  doubted  or  denied  the  reality  of  these 
various  workings  of  the  mind  as  modified  by  the  different  tempera- 
ments of  those  who  are  exercised  by  them.  But  I  do  object  to  the 
use  that  is  made  of  them  by  the  clergy.  We  should  not  make  them 
tests  of  one  another's  Christianity;  nor  is  there  anything  in  the 
Book  that  requires  a  man  to  tell  all  the  workings  of  his  conscience, 
as  a  prerequisite  to  baptism."  "  As  the  apostolic  writings  afford 
no  example,  and  sound  reason  furnishes  no  argument  to  require  can- 
didates for  immersion  to  relate  a  Christian  experience  before  they 
have  obeyed  the  Gospel,  we  protest  against  the  custom.  To  require 
candidates  for  marriage  to  relate  conjugal  experiences  before  they 
have  entered  upon  that  relation,  is  not  more  egregious  than  to  ask 
candidates  for  immersion  to  narrate  a  Christian  experience." 

This  was  the  most  serious  departure  from  Baptist  usage  by  the 
Reformers.  There  was  no  mistaking,  hence  no  misrepresenting, 
the  practice  of  the  Reformers  in  this  matter.  It  is  correctly  repre- 
sented in  the  Beaver  and  the  Dover  resolutions.  The  Baptists 
could  not  be  reconciled  to  an  abandonment  of  the  examination  into 
the  experience  of  the  candidate  for  church  membership.  This  would 
have  been,  in  their  minds,  to  open  wide  the  doors  and  throw  down 
the  very  walls  of  the  church  to  unregenerate  persons  —  a  thing 
that  was  intolerable  to  a  Baptist.  Whether  this  jealous  maintenance 
of  such  a  custom  results  in  a  purer  church  membership  for  the 
Baptists  than  for  other  bodies  that  resort  to  no  such  safeguard, 
is  not  easy  to  determine.  They  intended  only  the  good  of  the 
church  thereby,  and  believed  themselves  in  accord  with  the  spirit 
of  the  Scriptures  if  not  the  very  letter. 

(2)    The  administration  of  baptism. 

Another  practice  of  the  Reformers  by  which  the  Baptists  were 
deeply  grieved,  was  the  administration  of  baptism  by  an  unordained 
person.  The  Baptists  of  the  Stillwater  Association  of  Ohio  brought 
charges  against  Cyrus  ]\IcXeeley  for  baptizing  a  person  without 
being  ordained.'  One  of  the  charges  of  the  Beaver  Association  was : 
That  all  baptized  persons  have  the  right  to  administer  the  ordi- 

^  Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  423,  498. 

'Life  of  Smith,  168;  Millennial  Harbinger,  1830,  260;    1831,  82,  83; 

Christian  Baptist,  IV.  200,  275. 
^  Memoirs,  11.  329. 


THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 


123 


nance  of  baptism/'  It  was  doubtless  this  irregularity  of  the  Reform- 
ers that  lay  at  the  basis  of  the  charge  of  "  disorderly  and  disorganiz- 
ing measures  pursued  by  some  of  the  preachers  of  this  party,"  in  the 
Dover  resolutions.  They  also  complained  of  the  haste  with  which 
the  ordinance  was  administered,  and  the  substitution  of  the  words, 
"  I  immerse  thee  into  the  name/'  for  the  words,  "I  baptize 
thee  in  the  name/'  etc. 

(3)  The  observance  of  the  Lord's  supper. 

The  Baptist  custom  was  to  observe  the  supper  once  a  month  or 
once  in  three  months.  It  was  a  prevailing  custom  of  the  Reformers 
to  observe  the  supper  every  first  day  of  the  week.  It  was  a  matter 
of  conscience  with  them,  believing  that  they  found  sufficient  prece- 
dent for  it  in  the  practice  of  the  apostolic  churches.  The  weekly 
observance  of  it  was  scarcely  less  binding  upon  them  than  immer- 
sion as  a  form  of  baptism.  The  following  propositions  summarize 
the  teaching  of  Campbell:  "  i.  That  there  is  a  Divinely  instituted 
order  of  Christian  worship  in  Christian  assemblies.  2.  That  this 
order  of  worship  is  uniformly  the  same.  3.  That  the  nature  and 
design  of  the  breaking  of  bread  are  such  as  to  make  it  an  essential 
part  of  Christian  worship  in  Christian  assemblies.  4.  That  the  first 
church  set  in  order  in  Jerusalem  continued  as  steadfastly  in  break- 
ing of  bread  as  in  any  other  act  of  social  worship  or  edification. 
5.  That  the  disciples  statedly  met  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  pri- 
marily and  emphatically,  for  this  purpose.  6.  That  the  Apostle 
declared  it  was  the  design,  or  the  primary  object  of  the  church  to 
assemble  in  one  place  for  this  purpose,  and  so  commanded  it  to  the 
churches  he  had  set  in  order.  7.  That  there  is  no  law,  rule,  reason, 
or  authority  for  the  present  manner  of  observing  this  institute  quar- 
terly, semi-annually,  or  at  any  other  time  than  weekly."  "  Upon 
the  whole,  it  may  be  said  that  we  have  express  precedent  and  an 
express  command  to  assemble  in  one  place  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week  to  break  bread."  ^ 

The  Reformers  generally  favored  a  freer  communion  than  the 
Baptists  practiced  or  permitted. 

(4)  The  call  to  the  ministry." 

The  prevailing  belief  of  the  Baptists  of  the  time  was  that  there 
was  a  special  call  to  the  ministry,  and  that  a  man  was  not  warranted 
in  going  out  to  preach  until  he  had  received  unmistakable  evidence 

^Christian  Baptist,  III.  11,  30,  56;  V.  150. 
^Christian  Baptist,  1.  61,  91,  109,  133,  157. 


124  THE  SEPARATION:  CAUSES 

that  God  had  called  him  to  the  ministry.  This  call  was  indicated 
by  some  sign  without  or  assurance  within  of  a  physical  or  spiritual 
nature.  This  call  was  identical  in  import  and  character  with  that 
which  came  to  the  apostles, 

Campbell  rejected  this  notion  and  the  assumptions  underlying 
it,  namely,  that  it  was  necessary  to  qualify  one  for  service  and  to 
give  one's  message  and  ministry  a  certain  degree  of  authority.  The 
modern  call  can  not  be  the  same  as  that  to  the  apostles,  for  they  were 
especially  endowed  with  utterance  and  miraculous  powers.  Their 
message  came  with  the  authority  of  a  divine  revelation.  He  says : 
"  When  a  brother  in  distress  appears  in  the  presence  of  a  brother 
rich  in  this  world,  the  brother  of  high  degree  is  called  by  the  Word  of 
God  and  the  providence  of  God ;  or,  the  circumstances  of  the  case  call 
upon  him  to  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket  and  to  communicate  to  his 
distress.  Just  in  the  same  sense  a  brother  who  is  well  instructed  into 
the  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  who  has  attained  to  the  full 
assurance  of  understanding  what  Paul  and  Peter  and  James  and  John, 
and  the  other  writers  of  the  Xew  Testament  have  taught,  concerning 
the  way  of  life  and  salvation ;  when  he  finds  persons  ignorant  or  un- 
believing either  in  public  or  private,  is  called  by  the  Word  of  God,  and 
the  circumstances  of  the  case,  to  teach  and  preach  Christ  or  to  show 
the  things  that  the  ambassadors  have  taught  and  authenticated ; 
these  things  he  may  urge  on  their  authority,  who  confirmed  their 
testimony  with  signs  and  wonders."  ^  Such  is  the  call  in  which  Camp- 
bell believed.  One  of  the  charges  of  the  Tate's  Creek  Association 
against  the  Reformers  was,  that  they  taught  "  that  there  is  no  special 
call  to  the  ministry.'' 

There  were  many  other  minor  differences  of  a  local  sort  that 
divided  Baptists  and  Reformers  in  faith  and  practice.  The  fore- 
going, however,  were  the  principal  differences  that  issued  in  the 
separation.  Since  the  separation,  the  two  bodies  have  undergone 
modifications  that  have  brought  them  nearer  together.  There  are 
many  enlightened  individuals  in  both  bodies  at  the  present  time 
who  occupy  practically  the  same  position  on  these  questions  which 
were  in  serious  dispute  seventy-five  years  ago.  There  are 
extremists  in  both  bodies  who  are  just  as  far  apart  as  ever. 

'Christian  Baptist,  I.  69;  Life  of  Smith,  377,  380.  ^ 


,  ^              Date  Due 

AP  mi 

n  17- 

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